Sazón y Orgullo: Cooking Up Belonging

A Project of Eagle Valley Community Foundation and Mountain Pride
Funded by the Belonging Colorado Grant with the Greater Good Science Center

Building Belonging Through Food, Story, and Shared Experience

At Eagle Valley Community Foundation and Mountain Pride, we believe that belonging is not a luxury—it is a basic human need. When people feel seen, heard, and valued, they are more likely to thrive, engage in their communities, and help others do the same. Our organizations have long worked toward equity and inclusion by building programs that respond to the lived experiences of our Latinx and LGBTQ+ neighbors. Now, thanks to the support of the Belonging Colorado Grant from the Greater Good Science Center, we are launching a new project that brings this vision to the kitchen table.

Sazón y Orgullo: Cooking Up Belonging is a five-part cooking class series that invites individuals from Latinx and LGBTQ+ communities to come together through food, story, and connection. Each class explores a different theme—such as comfort, celebration, or identity—and is designed to help participants build relationships across differences while deepening their understanding of themselves and one another.

Participants cook and share meals together, engage in reflective storytelling, and receive take-home kits that allow them to recreate the experience with family and friends. Each class includes Spanish and English translation, bilingual discussion prompts, and recipes that are rooted in personal history and cultural pride.

Our First Class: Roots & Recipes

We launched the series in July with our first theme: Roots & Recipes. Set in Eagle, this class focused on the ways our family dishes and inherited recipes shape who we are. As people chopped, sautéed, and simmered side by side, conversations emerged about identity, ancestry, and memory. Participants were invited to reflect on questions such as:

• What’s a food you remember eating as a kid that made you feel loved?
• Who taught you to cook, and what else did they teach you?
• What does “home” taste like to you?

These were not just icebreakers—they were invitations to connection. Stories came alive around the stovetop, and laughter and learning were woven into each dish. People shared not just their recipes, but their histories. And for many, it was the first time they had sat at a table with someone whose background or identity differed from their own—and felt fully welcomed.

How to Join from Home

To make this project accessible beyond the walls of the classroom, we are offering a free video cooking lesson after each in-person gathering. Thanks to our partners at High Five Access Media, you can now watch the Roots & Recipes session online and follow along at home. You’ll also find reflection questions and a recipe kit available for community members unable to attend in person.

A Program Grounded in Research and Relationships

Sazón y Orgullo is more than a cooking class. It is a community-based intervention rooted in the science of belonging. Through pre- and post-program surveys, participant feedback, and storytelling, we are measuring impact across a range of outcomes including:

• Intergroup empathy
• Anxiety reduction
• Feeling understood
• Sense of belonging

By tracking these indicators, we aim to build a replicable model of how food, culture, and shared experience can foster deeper inclusion and connection—particularly in rural communities where isolation and identity-based discrimination are common.

Looking Ahead

Between now and December, we will host four more classes alternating between Eagle and Edwards. Additional community events—such as Fiesta Americas and Friendsgiving—will extend the invitation further. We are seeking thirty committed participants—fifteen Latinx and fifteen LGBTQ+ individuals—who are willing to attend at least three sessions and contribute their voices to this collective effort.

Belonging cannot be forced, but it can be fostered. It grows when we slow down, share a meal, and listen to one another. It starts in moments like these.

We hope you’ll cook with us, whether at the community table or from the comfort of your home.

Together, we are cooking up something powerful—one dish, one story, one connection at a time.