Retiree Elizabeth Tremberger stands among the produce she helps provide to those in need as a volunteer at the Throggs Neck Community Alliance’s food pantry.
When she retired in 2022 after 32 years of teaching in the Bronx, Elizabeth Tremberger wanted to find a way to give back to the community. It just so happened that she attended the same church as the founder of the Throggs Neck Community Alliance, a growing organization that was established during the COVID-19 pandemic to help needy families.
“I said, ‘Oh, I want to get involved,’” Tremberger, a retired science teacher, said she told founder Angela Torres. And Tremberger did — starting as a volunteer in January 2023 at the alliance’s food pantry at the Church of St. Benedict’s old convent building in Throggs Neck.
Tremberger began her teaching career after applying to become a paraprofessional and having the principal tell her she would be a good candidate for an open science teacher position. She worked in several schools, spending the bulk of her years at IS 192 and MS 101 in the Bronx. “I loved everything about it,” she said. “I loved the kids.”
Now, she is one of about 13 volunteers who faithfully show up at St. Benedict’s every Wednesday and Saturday to hand out food and ensure there is enough for everyone. She also helps from home by ordering produce and dry goods like cereals, beans and flour. “It’s a nice group of people,” Tremberger said. “And most of us live in the neighborhood.”
The alliance, which opened a second pantry last year in the Soundview section of the Bronx, partners with community groups and schools to gather donations of fruits, vegetables, groceries, supplies and cooked meals. It also receives a grant from GrowNYC to purchase produce from New York farmers, Tremberger said.
Knowing how much her efforts make a difference in the lives of those served by the pantry — many of them seniors or immigrants — touches her heart, Tremberger said. “They’re very, very grateful,” she said, “which we really appreciate, but we don’t expect anything in return.”
Torres said Tremberger and the alliance’s other volunteers are amazing people who are vital to the organization’s success and its mission. “Volunteers like her are really at the core of what we do,” she said.
Tremberger said she is grateful that she can volunteer and help the community in retirement. Through the alliance, she also has become good friends with two other retired teachers.
“I love doing it,” she said. “And all of us, everybody at the pantry, we’re all on the same page. Everybody is happy to be there. We want to help.”