FRANKLIN COUNTY (WSIL) -- A Sesser woman and a group of volunteers have helped feed people in need every week since June.
Teresa Stacey is responsible for gathering volunteers for three different food give-aways between Sesser and Christopher. Two of the food drives are through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.
The handouts run every Tuesday morning at First Christopher Church and on Thursday mornings at the Sesser City Park.
Stacey and her group of volunteers hand out 300 boxes filled with dairy products, like yogurt and different types of cheeses, and produce like lettuce, potatoes, and onions delivered by Cusumano and Sons.
Stacey has the cars line up, and one at a time the volunteers load the vehicles. Some boxes are delivered to people who can't drive.
Stacey has been teaching Family and Consumer Science to Du Quoin High School students for the past 26 years.
She said, between the two locations, they feed well over 1,000 people each week, and about 100 volunteers give of their time to help. When she talked about all the people from both towns, she got emotional.
"This could not happen in our community without all of these volunteers. Everybody says, 'Oh, Teresa is the Unsung Hero.' I am not the hero here. These people are," she said as tears rolled down her cheek. "My community has been great to support this. Our city supports it. They send our backhoe down and unload the truck for us, so we don't have to do that by hand. It's not me. It's all these people."
Stacey started coordinating the two food distributions in June, but for years she had already been helping out the mobile market that gets food through the St. Louis Food Bank once a month on Mondays.
This week alone, Stacey is part of three different food drives, and that is how her summer has been. She is what many consider a true volunteer who has a heart for people and a love for her community.
The Tuesday and Thursday food distribution will run through the end of August, but this will be Stacey's last week. Next week begins teacher workshops to prepare for the start of the school year.
