With five days to go before Christmas Eve dinner, which will be on December 24, it is appropriate to establish whether a low-income family will be able to hold the traditional banquet with the vouchers provided by the Government for these purposes.
President Luis Abinader ordered the delivery of 1,750,000 Bono Navideño cards for an amount of 1,500 pesos to be delivered to people who are not beneficiaries of any government assistance program nor are they on the payroll of a company.
This Sunday, he announced that the beneficiaries of the Supérate program, in addition to the allocation of RD $ 1,650 that they receive every month, for this December they will receive an additional 1,000 pesos as help from the Government for the preparation of the dinner on December 24.
The Christmas Eve dinner that adorns the table of low-income Dominican families that comply with the tradition is made up of the following dishes: moro de pigeon peas, roast suckling pig or pork, baked chicken, sheet cakes, Russian or mixed salad, pasta, telera bread, ripe banana cake, cupcakes or arepitas, lasagna, Christmas sweets, seasonal fruits and nuts. As a drink punch, wine or cider.
Next, the prices of the most important ingredients for the preparation of the "great dinner". These were consulted by the Fair Prices application of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
Moor of Pigeon Peas
· Can of pigeon peas: RD$ 89.80
· Pound of rice: RD$ 32.00
Soybean oil 16 ounces: RD$ 96.10
Total: RD$121.8
Chicken
Chicken pound: RD$ 72.60
Baked chicken unit: RD$ 331.72
Total: RD$331.72
piglet
· Pork meat pound: RD$ 106.90
· Pound Raw pork leg: RD$ 99.11
· Pound baked pork leg: RD$ 104.82
Total 3 pounds: RD$ 302.83
Russian or mixed salad
Carrot: RD$ 35.06
Potato: RD$24.50
· Mayonnaise (16 ounces): RD$ 123.84
· Eggs (4 units): RD$ 28
· Beetroot: RD$ 24.24
Total: RD$214.74
sheet cakes
· Sheet cake package: RD$ 244.77
· Green banana: RD$ 13.99
· Ground beef: RD$ 146.24
Total: RD$244.77
Telera
· Telera bread: RD$ 86.27
Ripe banana pie
· 10 ripe bananas (RD$ 17.35): 173.50
Prime ground beef: RD$146.24
· Cheddar cheese: RD$ 205.10
Total: RD$524.84
Fruits and others:
· Pound of grapes: RD$ 144.26
· Pound red apples: RD$ 68.94
Pound pear: RD$ 90.63
· Gummies: RD$ 60.80
Total: RD$364.63
The sum for the minimum purchase of the main ingredients has an approximate value of 2,098.41 pesos. The displayed list does not include alcoholic beverages and other ingredients to season the dishes.
In an interview with the president of the National Federation of Working Women (Fenamutra), Ruth Díaz, the unionist said that with the bonus granted by the Government, a family of five members cannot enjoy the traditional dinner.
"That's not enough for that night of the 24th," Diaz said, although she values the delivery of the aforementioned bonuses more than the Christmas boxes delivered by other governments.
She described that the purchase option for families that only have government aid is as follows: "I am almost sure that spaghetti is not going to stay, a Moor of whatever or rice with corn, and perhaps stewed chicken, salad of pasta, that's what it's going to do, because not even for a Russian salad”, he asserted.
She pointed out that neither the chicken nor the baked pork will be able to decorate the tables because they are not for sale in the stores, establishments that are characterized by selling at reasonable prices.
For the housewife, a decent dinner costs more than three thousand pesos: "Without exaggeration, without alcoholic beverages and without seasonal fruits, for five people it would cost between 3,000 and 3,500 pesos: a chicken, two pounds of pork, a Moor and spaghetti".
Dominican journalist and broadcaster.
