Enjoy some charitable good food this December - including Alby's at Gleneagles, Social Bite and Winter Heat hot sauce

It’s the time of the year when our post boxes (and email inboxes) get inundated with charities and social enterprises looking for donations.

The Alby's sandwich will be available at the Gleneagles Townhouse until 30 December, Monday – Sunday. Priced at £12, 50p from each sandwich donated to Social Bite.

From the Salvation Army to the Big Issue, RNLI and Age Scotland, I find myself filling out the wee forms for a Christmas donation. But what if you’re looking to give to charity while enjoying some good food? Usually, every year, supermarket and chain’s festive sandwiches often have proceeds going to charity but if you want to take this to a new, more delicious level, Alby’s in Leith have teamed up with the Gleneagles Townhouse to offer the ultimate festive breakfast sandwich, £12. This seasonal special is crammed full of porchetta filled with pork, sage and cranberry stuffing, The Spence brown sauce, matchstick crisps, celeriac and apple remoulade and rocket. It is served on Alby’s signature focaccia, baked in house by the Spence team. So far, so delicious but for each sandwich sold, The Spence will donate 50p to Social Bite – a charity on a mission to end homelessness. This donation will support the charity’s annual Christmas campaign – Festival of Kindness - which aims to provide hot Christmas meals and gifts to people most in need over the winter months through donations.

For something with more of a kick, check out a newly launched hot sauce, Winter Heat. Glasgow restaurant Buck's Bar has launched this hot sauce in aid of the food bank, Tuck Shop. Founded and run by fashion brand, The Blankfaces (a Glasgow based fashion brand with the aim of ending homelessness), Tuck Shop can be found in the back of their west end store 427 on Great Western Road. It is open to anyone that needs it - no questions asked. Made with the help of Leithal Hot Sauces, Winter Heat is a medium/hot sauce made with red jalapeno chillies, warming honey and zesty lime - it is vegan and gluten free. Priced £10 a bottle, every single penny will be donated to Tuck Shop.

Picking up lunch in Glasgow, Edinburgh or Aberdeen? Then pop into a Social Bite cafe, where you can ‘pay it forward’ meaning anyone in a situation of homelessness can go in and have something to eat and a hot drink. The new Glasgow venue, on Sauchiehall Street will also offer training and employment opportunities.

Popular Glasgow restaurant, Buck’s Bar has launched a limited edition hot sauce in aid of food bank, Tuck Shop.

For those with a sweet tooth, take a look at Grace Chocolates, whose sweet treats are handmade by women with convictions and who are choosing to make positive changes in their lives. Profits generated from the sale of chocolates are reinvested to provide training and work experience. Similarly, Glasgow’s Freedom Bakery and Glesga Roasters also help former prisoners with training and employment. Freedom Bakery, whose sourdough loaves are widely available in independent shops and are often served in top restaurants, has a simple mission: to make great bread, and to help people. Glesga Roasters is producing high quality, local artisan, roasted coffee, traded directly and directly with coffee cooperatives in Rwanda as a tool for rehabilitation, mentoring, employability and community.

Whether you’re treating yourself to a seasonal breakfast or lunch or looking for foodies gifts for friends and family, these companies and products are delicious ways to support people this Christmas.