FOOD
"NOURISHING HOPE AND DIGNITY, 1 PLATE AT A TIME"
Food insecurity remains a pressing issue in Puerto Rico, affecting countless families who lack access to nutritious food.
Dorado Cares is dedicated to combating this challenge through initiatives like community gardens, food recovery programs, and emergency food relief funds. We recognize that everyone deserves access to healthy meals, and our programs aim to create sustainable solutions while also fostering community engagement. By supporting our efforts, you can help us make a meaningful impact in the fight against food insecurity, ensuring that no one in our community goes hungry.
Food programs to impact the community coming soon.
CHAIRMAN: Juan Bauza - 910.964.5486 juan@doradocares.org
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: TBD
BENEFICIARIES: The Happy Givers, ACUTAS, Municipalities of Vega Baja, Toa Baja and Dorado
VIEW PRINT-READY FOOD INSECURITY MISSION FLYER
PROGRAMS
Program 26:
Partnering for Dignity:
The Happy Givers
Program Overview
In Puerto Rico, too many of our elderly neighbors are facing the twilight years of their lives in hunger, isolation, and unsafe living conditions. Some live without functioning stoves or refrigerators. Others endure leaking roofs, broken floors, or unreliable electricity. Many are alone, with no family close enough—or able—to help.
The Happy Givers, a Vega Baja–based public charity led by the compassionate and tireless Carlos Rodriguez, has made it their mission to serve these elders with love, dignity, and practical support. Every week, their team delivers over 800 freshly cooked meals to seniors in extreme poverty. But their work goes far beyond food. Through their Dignity Fund, they repair homes, provide essential appliances, and respond to urgent needs when there is no one else to call. They have built a structure, a volunteer force, and a deep commitment to care—not only for the body but for the heart and soul.
Dorado Cares is proud to stand alongside them. As part of our own fight against food insecurity, we have provided a $9,000 grant to strengthen The Happy Givers’ Dignity Fund, ensuring more elders receive not just a plate of food, but the tools, comfort, and stability they deserve. And this is just the beginning.
With the opening of our new commercial kitchen, Dorado Cares will produce over 100,000 meals each year for communities across Puerto Rico—15,000 to 20,000 of them will go directly to The Happy Givers to serve the elderly of Vega Baja. This partnership blends our shared missions into a united front against hunger and neglect. Together, we are building a model of community care that is both immediate in relief and lasting in impact.
But to make this vision a reality, we need you. Every donation to Dorado Cares fuels our kitchen, fills a plate, and restores dignity. Your support means more than meals—it means repaired homes, working refrigerators, and the knowledge that our elders are not forgotten.
Join us in ensuring that every senior in our care lives with nourishment, safety, and hope.
Because dignity is not a luxury—it’s a right.
Impact Statements
Program 20:
Voluntary Commercial Kitchen
Program Overview
Dorado Cares is proud to announce a transformative leap forward in our Food Insecurity mission—the creation of a large, fully permitted, commercial-grade kitchen dedicated entirely to preparing and distributing free meals to Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable communities. This state-of-the-art facility, set to open in October 2025, is more than just a kitchen—it is a hub for nourishment, community service, and hope. With over 1,500 square feet of cooking space, 2,000 square feet of dry food storage, 1,000 square feet of cooler storage, and 500 square feet of freezer storage, it is built to meet both the urgent needs of today and the growing demands of tomorrow.
From day one, our goal is to prepare and distribute at least 2,000 meals every week—focusing on the elderly, children, and low-income families. Even before opening, demand is already strong: we have commitments to supply 300 meals weekly to the municipality of Vega Baja, 300 meals weekly to Toa Baja, and 300 meals weekly to Dorado. As the kitchen scales up, these numbers will rise, ensuring that thousands of Puerto Ricans receive consistent, high-quality, and nutritious meals, all prepared and delivered with dignity. In times of disaster, this facility is positioned next door to the National Guard in Toa Baja. It has 24/7 security, full redundancy of power and water and is adjacent to a major food distributor for easy access to ingredients. The facility and operation is considered “essential workers” this ensuring Dorado Cares can remain in full operation during the islands most pressing time of need.
A unique feature of this initiative is our Chef Partnership Program. Many talented local chefs currently operate small meal businesses from home kitchens or garages, facing limitations in space, health department compliance, equipment, and growth potential. Our commercial kitchen will offer them the opportunity to operate in a professional, health-permitted “ghost kitchen” in exchange for preparing a set number of community meals each week, using ingredients we provide. This win-win model strengthens local entrepreneurship while guaranteeing a steady supply of meals for those in need. We already have four chefs committed to joining this program, and we expect more to follow.
While the facility itself has been fully renovated, the next critical step is outfitting the kitchen with the professional-grade equipment, tools, and essentials required for high-volume meal production. This is where we need your help. Donor support will directly fund the purchase and installation of ovens, ranges, mixers, refrigeration units, prep tables, packaging stations, and more—every element needed to make this kitchen a fully operational lifeline for the community. Every contribution helps us get one step closer to serving thousands of meals each week.
This is an opportunity to be part of something truly lasting—a resource that will fight hunger in Puerto Rico for years to come. By supporting this kitchen, you are not just buying equipment; you are building capacity, creating jobs for local chefs, empowering volunteers, and ensuring that no child or elder goes to bed hungry in the communities we serve. Together, we can transform this space into a powerhouse of compassion, efficiency, and impact. Dorado Cares is ready to feed the future. Now, with your help, we can make it happen.
Impact Statements
Program 18:
Food Trailer Mision Food Insecurity
Program Overview
Dorado Cares is proud to announce the newest addition to our mission to fight hunger and support those in need—a brand-new, fully customized $40,000 mobile food trailer, purchased entirely through the generosity of our donors in 2024. This is more than just a piece of equipment—it is a fully self-sufficient kitchen on wheels, designed to bring nourishment, comfort, and community directly to the places where it is needed most. Staffed 100% by Dorado Cares volunteers, this trailer allows us to meet people where they are, breaking down barriers and delivering meals with dignity and compassion.
In Puerto Rico, food insecurity continues to be a daily challenge, especially for the elderly and for children in underserved communities. For some, a healthy, freshly prepared meal is not a daily reality. With this mobile kitchen, Dorado Cares can travel into these neighborhoods and serve meals on-site, bringing not only food but also the message that our neighbors are not forgotten. From the poorest communities to areas recovering from natural disasters, this trailer gives us the ability to provide immediate, tangible relief.
The possibilities for impact are endless. The trailer can serve free meals at community events, fuel and refresh first responders and emergency workers during crises, and create moments of joy and connection in places where hardship is a constant companion. It will allow us to respond quickly in times of disaster, and it will also be a steady presence in our ongoing mission to address hunger. Every meal prepared in this trailer represents more than calories—it represents hope, care, and the belief that no one should go hungry in our community.
This initiative is also a powerful opportunity for our Dorado community to come together in service. We invite donors, supporters, and especially our youth to roll up their sleeves and be part of the effort—whether by cooking, prepping, or serving meals right from the trailer. Volunteering here is not just about food; it is about human connection. It’s about looking someone in the eyes and letting them know they matter. The impact is immediate, and the experience is deeply rewarding.
The mobile food trailer is ready to roll. Now we need your heart, your hands, and your willingness to serve. Together, we can take nourishment, kindness, and compassion directly to the doorsteps of those who need us most. This is our chance to turn generosity into action, to make a visible difference, and to remind every person we serve that they are seen, valued, and cared for. Dorado Cares has built the kitchen—now let’s fill it with love