Meet Agency Director Teressa Faber
Teressa Faber has worked as the emergency resource manager for the Good Samaritan of the Ozarks in Richland for over eight years. The pantry, which also has a thrift store, serves about 240 families commodities and 400 families bread and produce each month. In the first 10 months of 2015, the pantry served over 18,000 people.
Q: How did you become involved in the pantry?
A: I applied for a part-time cashier position with the Good Samaritan thrift store because I recognized that this organization was sincere about trying to help others. However, I was hired for the manager position and when that happened, I felt that God was directing me and had something he wanted me to do here.Q: What has been your biggest challenge?
A: Space. Whether it be freezer space, cooler space or food distribution space, I always could use more space.
Q: What is the best part of your job?
A: I enjoy making the pantry experience just a little more pleasant for our clients. It is never an enjoyable experience to go and ask for food, but I like it that the staff and volunteers here are very friendly, outgoing and willing to go the extra mile to serve our clients. I have seen parents tear up when we care enough to go a little extra for their family. It makes all the hard physical work of this job so worth it!
When I am serving a family I always remember the quote, by Millard Fuller: “For a community to be whole and healthy, it must be based on people’s love and concern for each other.”
Q: What is your most memorable client story?
A: Our pantry was called in by another agency to assist a gentleman that had just lost his wife. He found her on the floor of their home, and unfortunately he did not have a phone, so he had to walk nearly two miles to get help. He was a very elderly fragile man. His living conditions were pitiful. The windows in his home were just taped plastic that was flapping in the wind. Through a community effort, we got him food, clothes, warm blankets, a hot plate and a cell phone. He has come a long way. He now has a nice home, extra money in the bank and is very generous now. He is an amazing picture of what serving organizations can accomplish.