Jean Mendieta began his professional career as a project manager, helping farms in Nicaragua start and maintain their own tourism programs. He then came to the United States to live with his now wife and be closer to her family. He took a job in a restaurant because it was the only work he could find.

Today, he is a private chef, cooking primarily for impromptu events and small groups, using ancient and indigenous Mesoamerican methods and ingredients he grew on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley. His project, called Proyecto Xilonen, aims to educate Utahns about the diversity of pre-colonial foods in North America.

“I want people to know more about the importance of this culture – pumpkin, beans and corn and what else we can do with them,” Mendieta said. “Nowadays, people don’t know much about these ingredients and how to use them and eat them. But they’ve been using them for thousands of years, so the variety of what you can do with them is huge.”

Mendieta grows many of its ingredients on small plots in West Valley City and the Glendale neighborhood in western Salt Lake City.

Proyecto Xilonen, along with nine other small groups, is part of a Salt Lake City City Hall micro-grant program designed to improve residents’ access to fresh, healthy, local food. A handful of other projects on the west side also received small grants, including two more with international roots: ‘Aikona and the New American Goat Club.

Like Proyecto Xilonen, Aikona and the New American Goat Club were founded with the goal of introducing the people of Utah to international food traditions, farming techniques and ingredients.

At Mendieta’s West Valley City home, he grows everything from tomatoes to edible flowers, but the stars of his garden are corn, squash and beans. He plants them using the ancient Three Sisters method, which involves mixing seeds from the three plants in one bed so each type can grow properly.

In a field in Glendale, Mendieta grows three varieties of corn, one from Costa Rica, one from the Hopi tribe in Arizona and one that is originally from the Beehive State. When Mendieta harvests the corn later this month, the kernels will be a mix of colors, not just the pale yellow kernel you can buy at the grocery store.

The next generation

Mendieta’s wife, Evelyn Cervantes, comes from a family of Mexican corn farmers, but family members gave up farming when they moved to the U.S. when it became too expensive. Cervantes said she wanted to share that family history and knowledge with the couple’s daughter.

“It means we can pass it on to our daughter,” Cervantes said, “but also we can reconnect with our ancestors and roots.”

Proyecto Xilonen received $4,000 through the micro-grants program. Mendieta said he plans to use the money to conduct workshops for the public and students, where he would show Salt Lake City residents how he grows his crops and the dishes he makes with them – while incorporating Mesoamerican history.

Also in Glendale, where much of the city’s agricultural innovation is taking place, another small group is growing traditional Pacific Island foods. ‘Aikona, led by ‘Amelia Leafaitulagi ‘Aikona, currently exists as a small, makeshift garden in the dirt parking lot of a kava club for Tongan men.

There, Leafaitulagi ‘Aikona and her family grow three plants that are native to Pacific islands: taro, ti leaf and plumeria. The plants can be used for festivals. Plumeria flowers, for example, are used for flower garlands, medicine or food.

Leafaitulagi ‘Aikona said she started the project to bring historic cuisine and culture to Pacific Islanders in the Salt Lake Valley. She also invites anyone interested to help with gardening and learn.

“We want our children to put their hands in the soil,” she said. “We want to heal our communities. We need everyone to do that.”

She said she will share the harvest with people across the West Side and hopes to feed the homeless who live nearby. Eventually, Leafaitulagi ‘Aikona wants to expand the project into a collective with gardens across the West Side.

Get your goat

Not every program sponsored by Salt Lake City grows crops. The New American Goat Club preserves historic food practices in a different way: by giving children ages 8 to 18 a goat to raise over the summer and eventually sell.

The program, which is part of the national 4-H Youth Development Network, is comprised primarily of students from Somali, Burundian and Sudanese families – but is open to all new Americans. For many in East Africa, goat farming is a cultural staple.

“Parents and grandparents specifically wanted to give their children a connection to goat farming,” says program director Kate Wright, “because it’s really culturally important.”

The program not only serves an educational purpose, it also provides families with the opportunity to obtain goat meat for traditional meals.

Program leaders said the club, held at Roots Charter High School in West Valley City, is a place where children can make friends and relax away from home and school.

This summer, 17 children are participating. They’re learning about goat anatomy, how to train the animals, how to prepare them for a final performance, and even getting to pocket the money they earn from selling the goats.

Project leaders said the Salt Lake City micro-grant was critical to purchasing the goats for the club. The price of a young goat, also called a kid, has increased since the program began as Utah’s goat population has declined.

Maria Schwarz, the city’s micro-grant program manager, said she keeps the rules regarding how organizations use the funds flexible, allowing grant recipients to use the funds at their discretion to support their critical operations.

This is not least because the program finances all kinds of food projects and is intended to help increase the availability of diverse, regional foods in Utah’s capital.

“People have different needs when it comes to food,” said Schwarz. “We need many different projects of different sizes and types to meet people where they are, with their needs, desires and interests.”