Casa Maria Soup Kitchen
Casa Maria Soup Kitchen is a community resource serving Tucsonans in need.
About Casa Maria Soup Kitchen
Casa Maria Soup Kitchen is a Tucson community resource serving people in need. It is a Catholic Worker House committed to nonviolence, voluntary poverty, prayer, and hospitality for people experiencing homelessness, exile, hunger, and abandonment. The organization is part of the broader Catholic Worker movement, which includes communities throughout the United States and internationally. Catholic Workers live simply, serve people who are poor, and work against injustice, war, racism, and violence in all forms.
Casa Maria's work is grounded in acts of mercy and a search for justice for the poor. Its Catholic Workers describe that work as including feeding and clothing people in need and visiting those who are ill. The organization connects these actions to its faith, seeking to restore a sense of faith among people who have lost it and affirming its belief that Christ remains present in their lives. Nonviolence, hospitality, simple living, prayer, and service are central to the way Casa Maria describes its mission.
Support for Casa Maria can take several forms. The organization accepts financial donations as well as contributions of food, clothing, and hygiene items. It also offers volunteer opportunities for people who want to participate directly in its work. These options reflect the range of needs addressed by the organization, from immediate material support to the time and effort required to carry out its programs and community activities.
Casa Maria's work in Tucson also includes efforts related to affordable housing. The organization says it invests in properties to remove them from the speculative market and aims to house as many people as possible. Its properties are placed in a community land trust rather than being owned by one individual. Casa Maria also manages high interest mortgages on most of its buildings, including motels that affordably house nearly 100 people. The organization describes eviction as a last and difficult resort.
One example is El Camino Motel, located off 4th Avenue and the I-10 Frontage Road. Casa Maria purchased the motel with plans to turn it into an affordable housing complex. This housing work extends the organization's focus beyond the soup kitchen, connecting meals, clothing, hospitality, and advocacy with longer term efforts to provide stable places for people to live in Tucson and southern Arizona.
People looking to support Casa Maria can begin through its donation and volunteer opportunities. Financial, food, clothing, and hygiene donations are accepted, and those who want to learn more can review the organization's mission, statements, videos, and updates. Casa Maria's website also provides resources for people seeking help with rent or bills, making it a point of connection for Tucsonans facing immediate financial needs as well as for community members who want to contribute to its work.