On an early Houston morning, cars with their trunks popped open line up in front of Casa Juan Diego, just south of Washington Avenue. Casa Juan Diego primarily exists to serve migrants and refugees—referred to as huéspedes, or “guests”—fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries, but today there is a role reversal. Casa (as its volunteers call it) also distributes food sent from the Houston Food Bank to food-insecure Houstonians. Today, it’s the guests, mostly Venezuelans, who load the food into the Houstonians’ cars.
Before they begin, Louise Zwick, director and co-founder of Casa Juan Diego, asks a guest to lead them in prayer. Afterward, Zwick, 80, always dressed in no-nonsense black and often using a cane, returns to her office to face the day’s challenges while the guests and volunteers hand out frozen chicken, bags of rice and beans, and vegetables and fruits.
A Venezuelan asks how long a box is supposed to last. “It’s not enough for a week,” a Spanish-speaking volunteer answers. “But it’ll help.”
