New Grant Enables GSC to Launch Traditional Cooking and Gardening Program

Guåhan Sustainable Culture (GSC) is delighted to announce it has once again received a grant from Newman’s Own Foundation, a private grantmaking organization dedicated to nourishing and transforming the lives of children who face adversity. With this generous support, we are proud to launch our new Summer and After School program initiative, “CHamoru Culinary Heritage: From Garden to Family Table,” a summer camp program designed to reconnect our island community with traditional CHamoru ingredients and cooking methods.

CHamoru Culinary Heritage: From Garden to Family Table

This program is focused on reintroducing middle and elementary school students—and their families—to the rich history of CHamoru food traditions. By blending hands-on activities, intergenerational learning, and community engagement, the program will facilitate a deeper connection to the food traditions that have sustained our island for centuries. Some of our goals for this program are to reconnect families with traditional CHamoru ingredients and cooking methods, facilitate the transfer of knowledge from CHamoru elders to younger generations, increase the use of traditional ingredients in daily home cooking, create lasting community impact through educational materials, including a recipe book. Throughout the program we hope to engage CHamoru elders across various sessions to share their knowledge, document traditional recipes and cooking techniques, and incorporate more traditional crops into our community gardens.

Thanks to the support of Newman’s Own Foundation, we can now provide hands-on learning experiences that honor our island's cultural heritage. The grant will allow us to cover the costs of field trips, educational materials, and provide stipends for our high school interns. Additionally, the funding will support the creation of the digital and printed recipe book, a resource that will help preserve traditional CHamoru recipes for future generations and encourage the continued use of locally grown, culturally significant foods.

"On behalf of Guåhan Sustainable Culture, we are incredibly thankful to Newman’s Own Foundation for their generous support,” said Michelle Crisostomo, President and Co-founder of Guåhan Sustainable Culture. “Their dedication to advancing food sovereignty and nutrition education strongly aligns with our mission to create a sustainable and food-secure future for the people of Guåhan. We also extend our gratitude to the CHamoru elders, cultural groups, and community partners who have inspired this program and will and help bring it closer to reality."

Get Involved

We believe that food is at the heart of community, and we invite you to be part of this exciting journey. Whether through volunteering, attending our family night events, or supporting our program, your involvement helps us build a healthier, more sustainable Guåhan for generations to come. Stay tuned for more updates on the CHamoru Culinary Heritage program, and reach out to learn more about how you can contribute to our efforts. Together, we are nourishing the future of our island community, one meal at a time.