{"id":19857,"date":"2015-07-07T00:39:52","date_gmt":"2015-07-06T14:39:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theguamguide.com\/?p=19857"},"modified":"2021-06-17T10:36:38","modified_gmt":"2021-06-17T00:36:38","slug":"farm-to-table-guam-grow-fresh-eat-local-give-back-to-the-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/farm-to-table-guam-grow-fresh-eat-local-give-back-to-the-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Farm to Table Guam: Grow fresh, eat local, give back to the community"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Jessica Peterson<\/em><\/p>\n

First, a full disclosure: I work for\u00a0Farm to Table Guam. That being said, don’t think I’m biased when I say this organization has significantly impacted the agricultural community of the island. This impact is no small feat considering they are a relatively new organization that seemingly popped up out of nowhere. Since 2012, the organization\u00a0has secured grant funding, assisted several small businesses to get off the ground,\u00a0helped\u00a0farmers obtain\u00a0grants of their own, and has established a\u00a0farm of its own to\u00a0sell\u00a0produce to you and me.<\/p>\n

Farm to Table Guam, a non-profit organization, was established in 2012 with the mission\u00a0for every kitchen, cabinet and pantry to contain products made on Guam from crops grown on Guam. Like many \u201cfarm to table\u201d movements around the world,\u00a0Farm to Table Guam (F2TG) wanted to shorten the distance from farm to consumer through strengthening farmers and businesses that\u00a0support farmers such as restaurants and producers. The organization dedicated 2013 to research and surveying to get to know the needs of the local farming community. They surveyed roughly 30% of Guam’s farmers and reported the results in several community meetings. The organization went on to launch a five-year project, Tanom, Fatinas, yan Sustansia<\/i>\u00a0(Plant, Prepare, and Sustain) to address challenges in our agricultural community. The basic aim of the project is to reduce unemployment, assist the expansion and diversification of local agriculture-based businesses, while strengthening the awareness of the importance of supporting local agriculture through outreach in the community.<\/p>\n

But what does that all mean?<\/p>\n

Tanom, Fatinas, yan Sustansia: Plant, Prepare, and Sustain<\/h3>\n

\"Farm<\/p>\n

For\u00a0consumers<\/b>,\u00a0Tanom, Fatinas, yan Sustansia<\/i>\u00a0means the opportunity to participate in a CSA (community supported agriculture) subscription, that is, to receive a box of locally grown produce on a weekly basis. Being among the first to launch this type of service, Farm to Table Guam\u2019s subscription demand exceeded its first supply \u2013 selling out of the first subscription of 30 in hours. It continues to grow \u2013 with more farmers participating and plans for expansion in the works. All produce going in the CSA box is sourced both from F2TG’s farm and from local farmers and food producers.<\/p>\n

For those not wishing to commit to a subscription, F2TG also sells local farm produce at farmer’s markets — including the Mangilao Night Market as well as Chamorro Village every other Saturday.<\/p>\n

\"Farm

Farm To Table Guam CSA subscription box<\/p><\/div>\n

For\u00a0local food producers<\/b>,\u00a0Tanom, Fatinas, yan Sustansia<\/i>\u00a0means the opportunity to receive business training, marketing support, and partnership opportunities such as supplying the CSA with products such as\u00a0dinanche, jelly, or sea salt<\/i>. F2TG\u2019s business training comes in the form of business planning, budget development, idea sharing, and more. The organization’s\u00a0social media has been a key outlet for marketing making followers aware of island events such as\u00a0fairs, festivals, or in stores to purchase locally grown produce and locally made products.<\/p>\n

For\u00a0chefs<\/b>,\u00a0Tanom, Fatinas, yan Sustansia\u00a0<\/i>provides a link between commercial kitchens and local produce. F2TG \u00a0supplies local restaurants like Pika’s Cafe, 9th\u00a0Street Rotary, Kitchen Lingo,\u00a0and the list keeps growing. It also assists chefs to source produce from other local farms. For example, when Chef Lingo from Kitchen Lingo was interested in growing experimental crops not currently available on the island, F2TG was able to assist.<\/p>\n

\u201cFarm to Table has helped in allowing me to have an opportunity to use quality produce,” says co-owner and chef Lingo Quichocho. “They\u2019re growing produce that doesn\u2019t particularly grow locally and are using organic farming practices. I\u2019m able to shoot over ideas in what I want to try and grow and they are very accommodating in trying to fulfill my requests.\u201d Farm to Table also connected Chef Lingo with other local farmers in building his menu.<\/p>\n

\"Kitchen

Kitchen Lingo owners and staff<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Melanie

Melanie Mendiola, Project Director of Farm to Table Guam<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Kitchen Lingo, Pika\u2019s Cafe, and all other restaurants who support local farmers that will help push the local agricultural industry forward,\u201d says Melanie Mendiola, Project Director for Farm to Table Guam. \u201cWe look forward to continuing to connect him with more local farmers, fisherman, and vendors as he grows.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, F2TG helps business entrepreneurs develop\u00a0valuable business skills.\u00a0Mendiola worked directly with 9th Street Rotary co-owner Mark Duenas to open his restaurant in June\u00a02014.<\/p>\n

\u201cFarm to Table helped Mark put his vision down on paper,\u201d says Mendiola. \u201cWe helped him put together his business plan, briefed him on what to expect in the lending process, and pretty much held his hand until he secured the financing he needed to get his restaurant off the ground. As a result of our help, Mark is employing at least six people \u2014 a direct contribution to the local job economy. Further, he is committed to patronizing local farmers and fisherman as much as possible, strengthening the Farm to Table mission of bringing food from local farms to local tables.\u201d<\/p>\n

For\u00a0farmers<\/b>,\u00a0Tanom, Fatinas, yan Sustansia\u00a0<\/i>means support and help with sales. F2TG has worked closely with Guam’s hardworking farming community by offering business training, marketing support, and grant assistance.<\/p>\n

\"Teenager

Teenager Kenny Pangelinan harvesting eggplant at F2TG’s farm<\/p><\/div>\n

F2T partners with local farmers in supplying a CSA box, offering an alternative venue for farmers to sell their produce.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeginning farmers are perfect for the box,\u201d says Mendiola, \u201cas they may have enough for one week, but not on a consistent basis just yet. They are may not be quite ready to go into the grocery store, but while they are finding their way there, we can help.\u201d Mendiola says that for larger farmers the CSA is a \u201cmodel\u201d for what they may wish to launch themselves in the future. \u201cIt\u2019s called a model subscription because we\u2019d very much like other organizations \u2013 co-ops, private farmers, and businesses \u2013 to consider the subscription model as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

F2T also has a working directory where farmers list produce they have for sale. The directory is made available to Guam’s\u00a0food industry.<\/p>\n

For farmers wishing to receive technical assistance, Farm to Table Guam is available to help. \u201cWe assisted farmers in preparing grant applications,\u201d says Mendiola. \u201cIn fact, a chicken farmer, with our help, recently received just under $10,000 for an experimental feeding project using sustainable food sources.\u201d F2TG offers workshops for grants and other topics, and sometimes pairs up with other local organizations \u2013 government and federal \u2013 to provide presentations and trainings to farmers.<\/p>\n

For the\u00a0community<\/b>,\u00a0Tanom, Fatinas, yan Sustansia\u00a0<\/i>means jobs \u2013 both within and outside the organization. F2TG’s mission from day one was to train even the most novice person to grow their own produce. F2TG has hired and trained multiple farm apprentices with the goal of assisting them to successfully manage their own farm businesses.<\/p>\n

\"Man-harvesting-eggplant-V\"

Farm to Table employee harvesting eggplant<\/p><\/div>\n

In addition to all this, F2TG is heavily involved in community outreach, spreading awareness and sharing the importance of supporting local farmers. They do this through presenting at health and wellness fairs, participating and supporting school garden projects, and more. Some of the more creative events have a juicing demonstration at a Government of Guam wellness event, inviting the community to tour the farm, and teaching kids how to plant. One of Mendiola\u2019s favorites was a workshop at Yona Community Center by Barefoot Juicer Jenny Coffman. In the workshop, Coffman demonstrated\u00a0how to make yogurt with local coconuts.<\/p>\n

\"Barefoot

Barefoot Juice Jenny Coffman at the Farm to Table Market<\/p><\/div>\n

Farm to Table Guam is a vibrant organization with much to offer the people of Guam. We are sure to see a great deal more in the coming years from this organization.<\/p>\n

Visit the Farm to Table Guam website<\/a> <\/strong>to learn more.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Jessica Peterson First, a full disclosure: I work for\u00a0Farm to Table Guam. That being said, don’t thin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[552,524,923,504,600],"tags":[266,924,818,271],"class_list":["post-19857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-community","category-eating-local","category-featured","category-food","tag-community","tag-eating-local","tag-farm-to-table-guam","tag-food"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.theguamguide.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}