CHARLOTTE — Every Wednesday, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Charlotte transforms into one of the neighborhood’s most important centers for food and community support. From 8 a.m. until late in the afternoon, more than 30 volunteers work tirelessly to feed more than 300 families who wait in long lines for hours to receive their weekly groceries.
The leader of this incredible operation, Casa Marillac, is the parish’s director of charities: Lupita Nava.
Nava, who is originally from Mexico, began working at the parish in 2016, starting as a volunteer in the church kitchen, but because of her passion for social work, she seized the opportunity to lead the parish’s efforts.
“I felt very fortunate to be given the opportunity,” Nava said. “Especially to do something that helps the community.”
Casa Marillac initially opened to the public in 2012, focusing on providing food for those most in need, as well as referrals for medical services and assistance for newly arrived immigrants. It is called Marillac in honor of Saint Louise de Marillac and Saint Vincent de Paul given that Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Vincentian parish. When Nava joined the project in 2019, she says she saw a great need to continue expanding its offerings.
“Especially with the start of the food bank, we were able to begin reaching even more people,” Nava explained.
When COVID hit in 2020, the parish was given an opportunity to expand its weekly free food operation when Casa Marillac began collaborating with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and Second Harvest Food Bank. At the time, both organizations provided distribution support. However, later in the year, they were unable to supply volunteers, so the parish had to take responsibility for ensuring that the resources were distributed appropriately. The parish would need a larger number of volunteers to make it happen, so Lupita went to work ensuring they could recruit the people needed to keep the program running in a challenging time.
“When others could no longer continue, we made the decision to keep going with this effort to continue supporting the community,” Nava said. “We didn’t want to lose these resources.”
The project, now led by Lupita and the volunteers for the past four years, continues thanks to their dedication.
“As long as the Lord keeps sending what we need, we’ll be here,” Nava shared.
Lupita says that the satisfaction of knowing they are helping and feeding hundreds of people each week is something beyond words—and that feeling is what keeps volunteers coming back week after week.
“You get tired, but you always feel happy with what you’ve accomplished,” Nava said with a smile.
During the day, Nava explains that they never know how much food the trucks will bring, so they place their trust in God to provide.
“In the mornings, I pray that the Lord gives us just what we need,” Nava said. “He always provides.”
— Brian Segovia
