Thankful Every Day: Juan's & Mia's Story

Juan and his family moved from Lima, Peru to provide a better life for his daughter, Mia. Mia was born with a rare medical condition that affects her ability to see as well as walk. 

“The reason we moved to Minnesota in the first place is to help with her therapy,” says Juan through a Spanish translator. On his phone, he shows a video of Mia outside on a special bicycle that allows her to move her legs and move by herself with the assistance of a therapist. 

Mia, with her condition, has a lot of food allergies. Her diet is mostly fruits and vegetables, which Juan can obtain during his visits to the Mi Casita Pantry food shelf in Shakopee. The pantry is one of the services provided by Mi C.A.S.A., whose goals include promoting healthy lifestyles through healthy eating—specifically for those in the Hispanic community. 

“Mia is the reason why we started to come [to Mi Casita Pantry]. We save money by coming here, and the money we don’t spend we can spend on rent and bills. But the best part of it all is that my family eats healthier.” 

Juan and his wife split the cooking duties, but he prepares a lot of classic Peruvian dishes. “Lots of chicken with vegetables, salad dressing, rice—lots of vegetables. We sometimes do lentils and beans as a side dish to the main protein. But we eat a lot of chicken.” 

While Mia is the main inspiration for coming to the food shelf, Juan is happy that it means his entire family, including his wife and his other seven-year-old daughter, are eating a lot healthier. “All of our health has improved because we are eating mostly fresh vegetables and produce. Plus less stress.” 

Juan is looking forward to the holidays, as he will get to prepare his favorite dish: Lomo Saltado. “It translates to jumping beef,” says Juan. “It’s because everything jumps off the pan from the heat and the sizzling.” The pan must be very hot to make the dish, with the flames sometimes shooting up from the stovetop. But fear not: Juan was a firefighter back in Lima, so he always puts safety first. Lomo Saltado is typically served alongside rice and French fries and “the French fries have to be homemade,” insists Juan. 

Second Harvest Heartland supplies much of the produce and protein to food shelves like Mi Casita Pantry, so that Juan and his family can eat healthy and put their minds at ease. Fortunately for Juan, Second Harvest Heartland provides lots of potatoes so the Lomo Saltado can be up to his standards. 

“We are blessed to be here at Mi Casita,” says Juan. “We are thankful every day.”