Rick Murphy: Benton Harbor Mobile Pantry Coordinator and Truck Driver
Rick Murphy has lived in Southwest Michigan for 32 years and has been with Feeding America West Michigan for 11 years. Rick works with agency partners to ensure that our mobile food distributions run smoothly in Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties.
He was drawn to the truck driver position initially because he had a commercial driver’s license and needed flexibility to take care of his parents. Now, he says his favorite part of his job is working with the volunteers at our numerous agencies.
“In my prior life, I don’t think I’ve met as many decent people as I have in working with Feeding America West Michigan,” he said. “A lot of those folks are at the agencies, and they are just real, giving people; they’re selfless. A lot of them really go above and beyond the call of that duty.”
Kristy Tunstill: Southwest Agency Partnerships Specialist
Kristy Tunstill was born in Southwest Michigan and has lived there her whole life. She’s been a part of the Feeding America West Michigan team for five years. As an agency partners specialist, Kristy works directly with our agency partners to help them effectively serve our neighbors. This includes trainings and support for meeting national food bank standards as well as state and federal law.
Drawn in by the opportunity to give back to her community, she also appreciates the flexibility in her position and how it benefits her family by giving her the opportunity to schedule around their lives.
The people that she works with and her family are a big source of motivation for the work she does.
“I always try to teach my kids to give back to others and just do their best in what they’re doing every day,” she said. “I love helping others, and I love all of my co-workers. I think we have a good group of people.”