Spotlight on Angela
…there was only so much that Parent Teacher Associations could do to help. Even though they tried to help, they could only help temporarily, but they couldn’t keep up with the need.
“I’m the President’s Council President for District 8 in the Bronx. I oversee the PTAs of my entire district which consists of 36 schools. When the pandemic hit, I started receiving phone calls from local schools indicating that families needed help because of their food insecurity issues. Families didn’t have enough food, and there was only so much that Parent Teacher Associations could do to help. Even though they tried to help, they could only help temporarily, but they couldn’t keep up with the need. On April 1, I lost my mom to Covid, which was devastating. After having my world rocked by that, I decided to place my energy into doing something about the food crisis in my area and started the Throggs Neck Community Alliance food pantry later that month, right in the middle of the pandemic. At first, we started out of my church, Throggs Neck Community Church. I got food and drivers from wherever I could, identified which families were in the greatest need, filled bags, and started driving them directly to their homes. In May 2020, I was introduced to Shana, the Program Director of Rap4Bronx, a food relief program, which acted as a hub for produce distribution. What started out as bags of food became boxes of food, and by July 2020, we moved into a space in the Fort Schuyler Presbyterian Church. The indoor space was the size of a closet, so we serviced the community as an outdoor, walk-up, pop-up pantry. By February 2021, we were blessed to move to a space at St. Benedict’s Church in the Bronx and have been serving from there ever since. Through Rap4Bronx, we were introduced to Dan and Mott Haven Fridge, who would give their excess food to us. At times, we were servicing 500 families in a week.
I have about 50 regular volunteers who do this work with me and I train them to treat every person with love, compassion and a smile. To get to know their name. To make them feel valued and respected. This is very important to me.
Through the direct relationship we now have with Dan, I can now provide sufficient fresh produce for the people who come onto our line every week. Without this help, we would have only the few canned donations that we receive, which wouldn’t be enough. With the rising cost of food, these people rely on us. This is the way they are able to feed their families and they are so happy to receive the food. One time, a man waiting in line asked me if I could give him something to eat right then and there as he hadn’t eaten in two days. They really are going week to week. I have about 50 regular volunteers who do this work with me and I train them to treat every person with love, compassion and a smile. To get to know their name. To make them feel valued and respected. This is very important to me. Volunteering changes your whole life perspective because it helps you to realize why everything in life is valuable. There are so many people out there who are suffering and don’t have enough. The only way you are able to see real change happen is to become a part of making the difference. A lot of people would suffer without access to this food, and our partnership with Mott Haven Fridge makes this possible. When the parents see the food, they thank us for helping to feed their families. They see that people care enough to bring the resources together to make this a reality. They feel the love.”
—Angela T., community activist, parent advocate, and Mott Haven Fridge Network food distributor in the Bronx