Governance Information to Consider for May Meeting & Link to April Meeting Video
Article IV. Membership
Section 1. Eligibility and Categories.
Any organization interested in reducing hunger and food insecurity on Staten Island may become a member of SIHTF.
Eligible voting members are representatives (delegates) of emergency food providers, which include stationary food pantries, home-delivered meal services, community/congregate meal providers, and mobile food pantries, on Staten Island.
Allies (non-voting members) include:
- Health organizations that address food insecurity as one of the social determinants of health.
- Food businesses that donate extra or leftover food to emergency food providers or that are required by law to do so.
- Individuals with an interest in food rescue and distribution.
- Government officials and employees.
- Funders.
Membership categories and terms shall be set and reviewed as needed by the Board.
Section 2. Voting.
Representatives of any organization wishing to have membership must fill in a membership form and deliver it to the SIHTF secretary (via an online survey, email, or mail). The form must show the delegate and alternate representatives as well contact information, best method for contact, the submitter, the type of emergency food provider, and any other information that the executive committee requires. New members will be approved by the executive committee.
Any organization holding membership shall have one (1) vote, to be exercised by the official delegate or alternate whom the organization has designated in writing. New members are recorded in the SIHTF membership database.
Section 3. Termination of Voting Memberships.
Voting memberships are not transferable. The executive committee may expel any member for actions inconsistent with SIHTF’s aims and objectives. The member shall be given at least twenty-four (24) hours’ notice of the proposed action by the executive committee to expel the member, with a statement of the reasons for the proposed expulsion, and may appear at the executive committee meeting at which action is proposed to be taken, to explain his or her actions.
Minutes from March 2023 Meeting
Minutes March 2023 Meeting
Minutes for the February 2023 meeting: Moved by Heather Butts and seconded by Chris Dowling. Approved
Data Committee presented on the data charts for the meals and numbers of people served
25% of programs responded
Meals: 7,635,301 based on 9 meals per person (conservative estimate)
Data Committee will do a training for food pantries on how to collect data.
Comptrollers Office: Reuben Sibri
Briefly discussed the Comptrollers Report 1 in 10 households in NYC are food insecure. Approximately 800,000 households,
DISCUSSION ON MEMBERSHIP: led by Chris and Susan
Slides
1) What have members?
Why have members
To vote on leadership
Legislation action and agenda
Special projects
2) Eligibility
People who come to meetings now:
a. Pantry/soup kitchens reps
b. Health workers and organizations.
c. Food businesses
d. Government agencies and officials
3) Eligibility
Can individuals be members or do members always represent organizations?
Is there a class of no voting members?
4) Membership Criteria?
Sign a membership form?
Pay dues?
Attend X number of meetings a year?
What kinds of organizations can be members? Schools, health orgs, food businesses, government agencies (eg, Dept of Sanitation)
Can individuals be members or do members represent an organizations
Is there a class of non voting members
Such as government entites, foundations?
Membership Criteria
Do members sign a form?
Pay dues?
Attend how many meetings a year to maintain membership?
Chris facilitated discussion
Donna: consider creating a board
Alex: stay as it is advocacy aorganiont
Hate to add requirements
Need it to be open so people can be at the table and be heard
Would not want to make it closed off
Eg of the organization “Rountable” fought for food pantry workers to be declared frontline workers during COVID and have access to vaccines.
Task force is at its best and strongest when all stakeholders are at one place
Mike Matthews – SI PPS Director of Veteran’s program
Dealing with 200 food deliveries a month to food insecure veterans.
Food businesses are more of a support
Laura Jean Watters
It is conflict of interest for the foundation to vote to affect policy while considering funding groups in the task force
Need to be careful using the collective impact word.
CI requires a backbone organization
Common agenda
Tracking deliverables over time
Producing considerable measurable outcomes
Task Force is a collaboration, not a collective impact entity.
Alex: what sources of funding are out there
He expressed fundamental concern for him if we move this group to become a mini-City Harvest or Food Bank.
That is a shift away from what we do now
Would we taek away $ from the pantries
TT pantries need infrastructure money not just food
Need transportation money, electricity…when we end up competing for grants as a SI Hunger Task Force e will end up those who compete with foundations who fund pantries.
Susan: the task force could get a van to share with pantries or share warehouse space
Or write grants to get pantries staffing.
Alex: How do w get pantries to the table? Who has skin in the game?
Joe Tornello:: membership should be with organizations not individuals
Want continuity of organizations not the name of a single organization.
WE need involvement so that each of o fus knows what the other is doing and so that we know what we are doing as a whole.
WE represent everyone in the network.
We know where to refer people within our network
END OF COMMENTS
Chris asks for a straw poll: number of hands: how many people think voting membership should be institutions
13 raised their hands. Majority of people present.
Next meeting: We will hear from School Based Pantry Services
Alex: reported PH pantry is moving to a new space on Canal St. Maybe we can meet in PH new pantry space in the near future.
Banner Image: Food pantry. Image Credit – arniafratria
SI Hunger Task Force
The SI Hunger Task Force is not a pantry. Instead, we connect community members to pantries and pantries to community and government resources.