Skip navigation

UNF Becomes Voice for Bateys

DAYVILLE, Conn. A trip to the Bateys of the Dominican Republic is no travel-and-leisure holiday. You have to be prepared for some rough accommodations, Michael S. Funk, president and chief executive officer of United Natural Foods, based here, told SN. No five-star hotels there. People of the Bateys, shanty neighborhoods of out-of-work Haitian sugarcane workers, who are not recognized as citizens

DAYVILLE, Conn. — A trip to the Bateys of the Dominican Republic is no travel-and-leisure holiday.

“You have to be prepared for some rough accommodations,” Michael S. Funk, president and chief executive officer of United Natural Foods, based here, told SN. “No five-star hotels there.”

People of the Bateys, shanty neighborhoods of out-of-work Haitian sugarcane workers, who are not recognized as citizens by the government, live on the dark side of the poverty scale — no money to buy food, no potable water, no paved roads, no health care, no education. Children are the most susceptible to the malnutrition and sickness that thrive in these areas, according to aid agency reports.

Earlier this year, United's Rick Antonelli, chief operating officer and executive vice president, and Margaret Lowe, vice president of special projects, went to the Dominican Republic — which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti — to distribute vitamins and anti-parasitic medicines to children ages 2-10. This was the launch of a new joint-venture project that is being funded by United under the auspices of Vitamin Angels, a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization dedicated to fighting malnutrition and childhood blindness around the world.

The trip was a life-changing experience for the United executives, said Funk, who plans to go on the mission himself next year.

Funk said the company was approached by the international aid organization, based in Santa Barbara, Calif., to help fund its many international projects. But instead of just writing a check, Funk wanted to do more. He gave Vitamin Angels a list of criteria and asked them to propose a project that United could use as a platform to inform and solicit participation among its more than 4,000 employees, its vendors and its retail customers.

The natural and organic wholesaler also wanted ownership of the project as the sole contributor, and direct involvement in the distribution of supplements and medication in the field.

“So often you don't know where the money goes, or exactly how the work is being carried out. In this situation, we have our people handing out supplements to children. We have tremendous oversight on the program, and it ensures us that the money is being spent in the most optimum way,” Funk said.

Vitamin Angels proposed the Dominican project, in which 55,000 children are expected to get needed nutritional supplements and anti-parasitic drugs over a three-year period. United has committed over $100,000 to fund the project.

The wholesaler plans to fly three or more representatives to the Dominican Republic twice a year to work in the field and distribute the supplements during three-day junkets.

United has already made a six-minute DVD of its first trip to the Dominican Republic for viewing by all employees.

The ultimate dream for the distributor is to go from supplement aid to long-term sustainability. “The country has a climate that could grow a lot more products than it now exports, but it needs development. How else can we work with this community to help the people get out of poverty? How can we get them to start growing crops for us to sell in the United States?” Funk said.

ABOUT IN THE COMMUNITY

This is the debut of a new section in SN, which will run periodically, and reports on how those in food distribution — retailers and wholesalers — are reaching out to local communities and the world to make a difference and improve life. We are particularly interested in knowing about news, events and projects designed to have a beneficial impact on the local community and make a difference in the quality of people's lives. Please email news to Christina Veiders, SN managing editor, [email protected].