ORLANDO | When Second Harvest Food Bank recognized Juan Vega as Person of the Year, Oct. 29, 2024, he felt overwhelmed.

He recalled accepting a job at Catholic Charities of Central Florida’s food pantry six years ago and thought about how much has changed since then. He call is the transformation “God’s work.”

After searching for work for three years and taking care of his father until he passed, Vega applied for a job as Catholic Charities assistant in food ministry. His first day on the job made him rethink his decision.

There was a lot happening with little direction. He felt it wasn’t for him and began walking off the job when a woman stopped him. She spent an hour and a half with him, praying and convincing him to stay. She was sure it would be him that would turn things around for the ministry.

“Staying was one of the best decisions I ever made in my life,” Vega said.

Within three years he became manager. The following year he stepped up as director.

“I was just looking for a job, but as time went by, God was making it clear there is a reason why I am here — to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves; to make sure everything we do, we do with dignity and that we’re all in this together. It’s been a fantastic journey, not just in helping our neighbor but with the people around me.”

Vega calls the people he works with, both employees and volunteers, “the true heroes.”

“I am nothing without the people I have around me,” he said. “They are the ones who believed in me, who put in the time.”

His co-worker Claudia Urdaneta, who serves as Semoran assistant food ministry manager, received a certificate of appreciation. The Semoran Pantry was recognized as Grocery Alliance Agency of the Year by Orange County’s Second Harvest Food Bank.

Vega said he never wants to take a day off because “all I can do is see God’s work. And I see God’s work, not just in what we do, but how we do it and with the people we do it.”

He added, “For the first time in my life I know I’m where I need to be, and that’s a lot. I know I’m doing what God wants me to do, to motivate and rally people, to use my skills in gathering people and keeping everybody pumped up.”

In 2018-2019, the Semoran pantry served about 17,000 households (55,000 individuals) per year with roughly 800,000 pounds of food. In the last fiscal year, the nine pantry locations across the Diocese of Orlando fed more than 56,000 households/ 218,000 people, 3.2 million pounds of food — 1.8 million of that out of the Semoran pantry.

“The most rewarding part is to be part of something special, to be part of God’s plan,” said Vega. “To see a smile on a neighbor or a volunteer, the camaraderie every day. The hardest part is that unfortunately we cannot help everybody. We need to look for ways to be creative to be able to help everybody when they are in front of us.”

Learn more about the food pantry, by clicking here.

By Glenda Meekins of the Florida Catholic staff, November 07, 2024