HUMAIN aims to create a consistent and reliable food source for elderly former sugarcane industry laborers in the bateye Monte Coca in the Dominican Republic. Due to their age or deteriorating health, these men are no longer able to work on the sugarcane plantations. Because they no longer have a job, they lose their only source of income—about three dollars a day. More importantly, they face two issues: they often lose their homes and are taken in by other families in the community, and they are unable to receive a consistent or reliable food source.

Given the fact that 220,000 tons of Dominican sugar are imported to the United States per year, HUMAIN aims to give back to the elderly former sugarcane workers in these communities who have provided us with the commodity of sugar for years, for, after all, sugar is an integral part of the U.S. diet. By giving back to the men in these communities, HUMAIN also aims to underscore the importance of purchasing fair trade products, sugar or otherwise.

The breakdown of the food program (by day) we hope to implement for the elderly men in Monte Coca is outlined below. Each day will cost approximately $55 to feed the 25 elderly men in the community.

• 15 lbs rice – 35 pesos per lb = 525 pesos

• 3 lbs beans – 60 pesos per lb = 195 pesos

• 12 lbs chicken – 65 pesos per lb = 780 pesos

• 1 lb cooking oil = 57 pesos

• 1/4 garlic = 45 pesos

• 4 packets of bouillon – 8 pesos each = 32 pesos

• 1 packet of seasoning = 37 pesos

• 1/2 lb salt = 55 pesos

• 1 onion = 60 pesos

• 1 packet of salsa = 51 pesos

• 8 pieces of wood/charcoal – 25 pesos each = 200 pesos

• 1 jug of water = 30 pesos

• 1 pack of spoons = 23 pesos

• 1 packet plates = 45 pesos

• 1 chef = 400 pesos

Total = 2,535 pesos

These prices are accurate as of late November 2017 and may fluctuate.