Staten Island Hunger Task Force Meeting Minutes June, September, November, December: Difficulty Training Volunteers, Community Needs Have Increased While Funding, Available Food Sources Have Not Met Growing Need

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Staten Island Hunger Task Force Meeting Minutes June, September, November, December: Difficulty Training Volunteers, Community Needs Have Increased While Funding, Available Food Sources Have Not Met Growing Need

Editor’s note: Staten Islander’s previous article on the SI Hunger Task Force was their meeting minutes from April.  They have been holding meetings, but the minutes were delayed.  As community need has increased, and food insecurity has skyrocketed, many of the programs vulnerable populations rely on have reduced their services or closed.  Some of the food pantries have been experiencing difficulty getting deliveries from City Harvest, a large supplier of food pantries in the area. According to the United Way’s True Cost of Living report, HALF of NYC residents cannot presently afford the cost of living.  That is 50% of New Yorkers cannot afford to live in the city. 

From the report, “In 2021, 36% of households did not have enough income to cover their basic needs, such as housing, food, health care, and transportation.

According to our latest findings, 50% of working age New Yorkers are struggling to cover their basic needs.” 

…”Comparing the household incomes collected in the 2021 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) to the New York City True Cost of Living reveals that one half of New York City households are struggling with the everyday crisis of making ends meet. Simultaneously, the methodologically outdated Official Poverty Measure (OPM) underestimates the extent of income inadequacy in New York City—documenting only 16% of households as ‘poor’.”

Staten Island Hunger Task Force Meeting Minutes December 2nd 2024

Attendance:

Heather Butts,Cathy Carlson, Avenella C., Tommy Bond, Fr. Hank Teull,  Alex Hughes, Lynell Bruno, Aleymayhu Ayele, Rob Mansfield, Antionette Donegan, Delila Nadal, Giomelly Barton, Tim McIntyre, Ruben, Laura-Jean Watters, Terry Troia, Ginny Manetllo, Olga Pavez

Heather Butts – Launched the meeting and welcomed everyone

Food For All – Terry Troia – February legislative forum will hopefully help us bring the issues raised by Cheryl Huber at our last meeting to our elected officials. Thanksgiving distributions were widespread and successful. The Silver Lake Lodge Veteran’s Group had a big Thanksgiving Dinner, and we hope to have them join us at future meetings. We are working to get more canned goods and produce to support the pantries. Staten Island Foundation/ City Harvest Meeting – opened the floor for discussion for those who attended the meeting.

Delila Nadal –  Attended the meeting and described it as a “Meeting of the Minds” and noted that many community partners came together to voice concerns for Staten Island and how often we are overlooked. The need for fresh produce on Staten Island was widely heard.

Project Hospitality and COJO are still receiving City harvest produce, although there are many pantries that have not been receiving food as they were before.

Laura-Jean Watters – Healthy discussion was had, but the proof is in the follow-up. Staten Island was well represented, but we are still waiting for resolution and contact from City Harvest. If the Hunger Task Force contact info was more up to date it would have been easier to connect with pantry providers for the meeting at the Staten Island Foundation.

Ginny Mantello –  RUMC is looking to CHASI to fill the gap in community need left after the RUMC/ ST Mary’s Distribution has stopped. City Harvest is working with a new model for serving 1500+ families to receive food support.

Governance –  Overview of standard operating procedures. Delila has expressed interest in remaining secretary instead of moving up to Vice-Chair due to capacity issues. We do not have enough voting members online at this moment to establish a quorum and move forward with a motion. We have received nominations via email and we have a slate to move forward with in the January meeting.

Advertising the SIHTF Website –  Heather Butts – we are looking to update the website, the list of pantries, and increase exposure. We will revisit this when Chris Dowling is present.  Potentially we could conduct a community needs assessment as well as data collection utilizing high school and college students to do the legwork and publish a study.

Staten Island Hunger Task Force received an award and a certificate from Peace Action and we are honored to have received it and be recognized for the work we do.

Heather Butts –  Epicured, HEALTH 4 Youths and others gathered together for a healthy Thanksgiving Dinner for the community on Wednesday, Nov 27th.


Rob Mansfield from Epicured, a medically and clinically tailored food is medicine, direct to consumer feeding program; gave a brief overview of his agency. Epicured started to combat gut health issues, but have gone on to become more comprehensive of the sorts of health tailored diets that are needed. Much work is being done with Diabetes, Maternity, and many other specific needs.

Fair Start is proving to be a successful program, seeing weight loss, more energy, and various other increases in quality of life. This is not about monitoring caloric intake, but is more about tailoring diets to people’s specific medical needs.

Stapleton Houses gardening project has 12 Garden Beds and a compost system and a greenhouse coming in 2025.

Dr Ginny Mantello – Partnership with the American Heart Association, working with pantries to do updates on Hypertension, train people to accurately measure blood pressure, and self management of blood pressure. This included stocking  more fresh produce and low sodium canned goods. Eating fresh produce is incredibly important to combat Hypertension. Many local pantries are involved, and we hope to see this work continue.

Avenella C. – Forgotten Foods – Event on December 14th from 3-6PM, an open dialogue for Stapleton residents to discuss what to do with local green spaces and make them feel more like community spaces rather than private space.

Antionette Donegan – Looking for support and funding for the Clementine Collective in order to keep this project alive in West Brighton and Stapleton.

Meeting Adjourned

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Staten Island Hunger Task Force Meeting Minutes November 4th 2024

Attendance:  

Donna Sciema, Jack Martz, Chris Dowling, Tommy Bond, Priscilla Marco, Heather Butts, Alemayhu Ayele, Laura-Jean Watters, Paloma Wasserstein, Antionette Donegan, Delila Nadal, Tim Mcintyre, Joe Tornello, George Barreto, Tanya Jones, Terry Troia, Cheryl Huber, Tami DiCostanzo, Clare Catanese, Ginny Mantello

Chris Dowling – Welcomed the crowd and apologized for the lack of an October meeting and introduced committee reports

Data – Mailchimp Subscribers up to 879 an increase of nearly 125

Chris Dowling – Nestor, a young man from Susan Wagner High School who has volunteered and worked to help clean up and confirm information on the food pantry master list for Staten Island from our website. Please check the website and ensure the information for your organization is accurate, an email will be forthcoming to verify this information with each pantry manager.

Priscilla Marco – More information is needed for the Vanderbilt Ave pantry. It seems to be a very grassroots effort, but they are receiving food shipments from City Harvest, so they must be doing something right. This also shows the growing need, because not only are we seeing increased participation at existing pantries, but we are seeing new pantries spring up as well.

Chris Dowling –  There will be a small meeting with a few providers, the Staten Island Foundation, and City Harvest to further discuss increasing efforts on Staten Island in the wake of the loss of Everyone Eats.

Tami –  Volunteer training workshops – Worked with Chris Dowling to create a training program. On October 2nd 25 people came to a training session at A Chance in Life. This introduced them to volunteering in general, individual organizations, and then went deeper into food insecurity and the causes of food insecurity to open understanding for the populations we serve. Differences between food bank, food pantry, soup kitchen .. etc., rules and regulations when it comes to food pantries and roles needed to be filled at pantries. Cultural implications and awareness, teaching understanding and lack of judgment. This training was all inclusive and can be tailored for individual programs/pantries/populations.

Harmonetics – Self care training for volunteers. A breathing technique workshop and exploration into what volunteers want to do with their future. Offered through funding provided by the Staten Island Foundation.

Ginny Mantello –  Is it possible to add a module to the volunteer training about food as medicine and helping volunteers to carry this knowledge to the pantry consumers to help fight health issues such as hypertension. How can we use pantries to help screen for high blood pressure and other chronic health conditions? Connecting pantry programs with the American Heart Association on these issues can be quite impactful.

Heather Butts –  Fair Start – A study on a cohort of 30 individuals over 12 months. 12 Meals/ week of medically tailored food. After surveys foods are more tailored to individuals and their preferences and medical needs. The study will include a robust amount of data analysis, while monitoring participants health and other factors over the course of the program. This is funded under the medicaid 1115 Waiver. This study is heart healthy and a continuing food as medicine study.

Cheryl Huber – United Way –  Farm Bill and other legislation –

United way has a food and benefits access program working with 500+ local pantries and soup kitchens as well as local farms and other food suppliers. United Way has many units and food is only a single of the 4 major pillars of United Way. Since COVID we have seen over 80% increased participation at food pantries city wide.

Farm bill has had several continuing resolutions since its expiry in September of 2023. Republicans want to limit the thrifty food plan – the plan that governs SNAP benefits. FDA plans have not been updated since 2007. Having advocates and agencies ready to reach out to elected officials is one of the biggest tools we have at our disposal at the moment. We hope to see expanded access to SNAP across New York, and nationally as well. We want to end the 5 year ban on SNAP benefits for immigrants with legally documented status. We would like to see SNAP work requirements eliminated for working college students. We want to see the SNAP ban [lifted] for people who have non violent drug offenses as well. We want to expand fresh produce access for seniors in need. We want to see TEFAP expanded and have the funding doubled to widen access for various foods such as Halal and Kosher needs as well as a removal of the TEFAP attestations on income that are needed to be signed by pantry consumers. FPPA (Fresh Produce Procurement Act) would be a national level expansion in the line of Nourish NY ( A program that funds pantries to buy locally sourced produce). United Way works closely with Food Bank NY and City Harvest on advocacy and agendas.

State initiatives to help people access food – Potentially launching a minimum $100 SNAP benefit (up from $23, in order to make the minimum SNAP benefit more impactful). New Jersey implemented a similar minimum in 2023 so it is possible.

SNAP for All – Creating a SNAP adjacent program for immigrants (DACA recipients, Temporary protected status, and undocumented immigrants) These people pay into taxes and should be allowed to access food assistance if they are within the traditional SNAP guidelines.

United Way – True Cost of Living Report – a comprehensive look at what the actual costs for living in NY are like. We found that 50% of New Yorkers cannot afford the cost of living in NYC. This report can help to advocate across NY or in more targeted areas such as Staten Island.

Chris Dowling – Being honored by Northwell Health as a community health hero.

Antionette Donegan – Clementine Collective –  Funding has run out, but this work cannot stop, so we are searching for any assistance to secure funding for this incredibly important initiative. Estimated cost for the 2 sites who need increased funding is $108 per week.

Meeting Adjourned

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Staten Island Hunger Task Force Meeting Minutes September 9th 2024

Attendance:  

Donna Sciema, Lily Dosina, Chris Dowling, Tara Klein, Eileen Bardel , Nick Peters, Alemayhu Ayele, Laura-Jean Watters, Dawn Bridgeford, Cathy Carlson, Delila Nadal, Joel Berg, Veronica Gambon, Tanya Jones, Paula Inhargue, Clarissa Sims, Ginny Mantello, Jamilah, Tobi Mojeed-Balogun, Andrea Guifarro, Tommy Bond, Heather Butts, Judy Douglas, Shakeia, Terry Troia, Diana Malone, Susan Fowler, Giomelly Barton, Danielle Parks, Lynell Bruno, Juan Fernandez, Christopher Springer, Alex Hughes, Paloma Wasserstein, Avenella Claxton, Janet Omoruyi

Delila Nadal moved to approve June Meeting Minutes, second by Susan Fowler. Minutes approved without objection or abstention.

Chris Dowling introduced Joel Berg of Hunger Free America to speak on the work of their organization on a broad scope (follow up to Lily Dosina’s presentation in June on the work done specifically in Staten Island)

Joel Berg – Hunger Free America

Hunger Free America is a nationwide anti hunger advocacy and direct service organization headquartered in Manhattan. While they are a national organization, they have redoubled their efforts in NYC as food insecurity has only increased. Staten Island has long been a bedrock middle class community where these problems were thought not to exist, but with the state of things in Staten Island regarding food insecurity being what they are, by that same measure we can assume that  food insecurity is a deep and widespread issue city wide. Rent, childcare, and the basic costs of living are way too high leading many people to face food insecurity. Hunger Free America runs an Americorps Vista program, year long capacity building, WIC and SNAP outreach, skills-based volunteers, and runs the national hunger hotline. Hunger free America is also a very strong advocacy program. We have much philanthropy, but that is no substitute for living wage jobs, affordable rent and food, and other factors.

For decades there have been attempts to cut SNAP, but we are also now seeing attempts to cut WIC as well. The end of the child tax credit has also been a hit to families struggling to survive. On a city level, they are advocating for an online portal to apply for government benefits in one place without many various applications and lengthy appointments. There is a disconnect between the DMV being widely accessible via the internet, while there is no avenue to apply for SNAP and other benefits online. The Farm Bill as written will increase the deficit while still slashing emergency food funding, but increasing corporate welfare. Regardless of the good work done by emergency food programs (Pantries, soup kitchens, etc..) this is not a long term solution to food insecurity. Federal food programs (SNAP, WIC, Etc…) amount to 17 times the food support given away by every single charity and food bank in the USA. One thing that will be instrumental in effecting lasting, dramatic change as needed is to engage and organize the low income people that we serve for voting and policy making.

Clarissa Sims – Liquid Vibes

After a battle with Cancer, Clarissa has gone on a holistic journey focusing on the concept that Food is Medicine. Currently working on setting up a series of workshops to help improve wellness and promote more healthy eating and full scope nutrition. Fresh fruits and vegetables, smoothies, and juicing can be an incredible tool to promote personal wellness. We want to help any organization to show their clients the ability, the accessibility, and ease of even using food scraps to promote more health and wellness and combat things such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and other diseases that come from lack of nutrition.

Episcopal Charities – Judy and Tobi –

Episcopal charities do work from Ulster county all the way down to Staten Island. Historically we provide capacity for organizations working in social services for Episcopal Diocese outreach programs. The goal is to help the community at large by supporting local farms and reducing carbon footprint by sourcing foods locally. They help Episcopal Church based food programs to access wholesalers for better pricing and free delivery in order to help build the capacity of these programs.

City Harvest – Diana Malone & Dawn Bridgeford 

City harvest and the work we are doing in FY ‘25 on Staten Island. Working with Stapleton UAME, PH, CHASI, Christ Pentecostal, Salvation Army, and other agency partners across Staten Island. We are lacking community partners in New Springville, Bull’s Head, Travis ETC. We are looking for potential agency partners in these areas if you could help us to make a match. We have provided a list of criteria for potential partners. City Harvest can help to provide organizational support and capacity building, workshop training, as well as transitioning to client choice, and even digital client choice. We will be working in the coming months to help increase the amount of Food Support coming to Staten Island.

Tara Klein – UNH – SNAP for All

Extending food benefits to excluded immigrant households. This will be a NYS investment in order to close the gap for families that are ineligible for SNAP due to immigration status. This has grown to a 40 member coalition in order to fine tune this program and try to make it a reality. SNAP exclusions exacerbate food insecurity. Over 800,000 families are excluded due to immigration status, regardless of the tax dollars paid into our society by these same families. Even with some immigrants being eligible, there is a 5 year waiting period that is in place for most of these populations. SNAP for all would help close the gap and mirror the current guidelines for SNAP, while including all New Yorkers regardless of immigration status. Over the past few years there have been similar measures of expanding SNAP in specific states to close gaps in food access. This initiative is building momentum and the coalition is launching and having a Kick-off soon. We expect this to be a multi-year campaign, but we are going out in full force in order to make this program a reality.

Meeting Adjourned

____________________________________________________________________

SIHTF Meeting Minutes June ‘24

Chris Dowling welcomed everyone, spoke about missing meeting recording from May, notified us of Delila’s Absence, and Introduced our first speaker Lily Dosina – Hunger Free NYC

Lily – We are at the conference in Washington D.C., in 2018 a Contract with  NYSDOH and Hunger Solutions NY aimed at increasing participation rates in Staten Island. This effort was successful at increasing participation on S.I. leading to other funders coming on board to expand the work. Recently this work has shifted to focus on the needs of asylum seekers. In September we will be talking more in depth about the work that we do as well as the other programs and resources that you can make use of for the populations you serve.

Tami DiCostanzo – Project Director for the Americorps Seniors Program – We work with a vast array of different agencies and programs. Finding good volunteers with longevity of service can be quite difficult. Investing in and preparing volunteers can enhance their volunteer experience and help to cultivate lifelong volunteers. We are implementing a volunteer training program to prepare them for service with these goals in mind. This training will cover not only information and training on the populations which we serve, but also giving these people the tools needed to effectively serve as well as training on self care in order to make volunteering a more sustainable and personal experience.

Chris Dowling –  Volunteerism can be very difficult to cultivate and this seems like a great opportunity to break down dividing lines and cultivate more volunteer service for the pantries across S.I. This can lead to more programs for workers and staff to help cultivate essentially “Pantry Mentors”  Touched on the upcoming plans for a potential food pantry at Stapleton NYCHA as well as some conversation about other resources available in that area and historic programs in the area.

Neeti Jain – Mayor’s Office of Food Policy-

Highlighted how impressed she was with food insecurity efforts in Staten Island. This office is studying benefits of a plant rich diet, food insecurity, as well as healthy food, sustainable food, how that intersects with human and climate health. Research shows that food insecure people have a high rate of chronic and diet related diseases, and often these populations lack equitable and accessible health and medical care. This office looks to direct the quality and quantity of the foods being served to communities, particularly nutrient rich plant based foods. Comments were given on the ever increasing demand along with the budget cuts that seem to always bee happening. Neeti highlighted that policy and budget decisions are well above her paygrade, but she as well as many others recognize these issues are incredibly relevant and serve as a barrier to moving forward with these more health based initiatives and plans.

Committee Reports –

Data – Chris Dowling – Pantry Statistic Collection Sheet nearly completed, please be on the lookout.

Food For All –

Terry Troia – House has moved on a farm bill approval on 5/23 from the committee. No NY Dems voted to release the bill from committee. This bill is being billed as a bipartisan bill and a Senate bill similar to the House bill is expected to be coming soon. This bill as it stands is not beneficial to vulnerable populations. We are hoping for this issue to be extended until after the November election. Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow has launched a proposal to protect the Thrifty Food Plan. There is a proposal from Debbie Stabenow to expand SNAP eligibility to persons with drug related felonies, improve EBT card security, and expedite recovery of stolen benefits; it will allow for SNAP access to college students and military families, as well as expanding SNAP to Puerto Rico, and will conduct a study about the use of SNAP benefits for prepared foods. The best way for pols to reduce the cost of the farm bill is to increase barriers to access SNAP and TEFAP benefits amongst others. We are working to advocate for an extension of the Farm Bill as it is now. CFC cuts are going to potentially affect 500+ pantries city wide. Chris Dowling and Terry co-wrote an article about the proposed CFC cuts available here https://www.silive.com/news/2024/05/22-food-programs-for-needy-slashed-here-as-city-cuts-30-million-from-the-editor-a-guest-column.html . We are looking to organize and take action to dispute and hopefully roll back these budget cuts.

Meeting Adjourned

Banner Image: Homelessness and food insecurity. Image Credit – Jon Tyson


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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.

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