STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Staten Island Hunger Task Force met for the final time in 2025 to elect new leadership, offer community updates, and brainstorm ideas on how to help residents keep their pets even as the financial belt tightens.

Heather Butts, the executive director of H.E.A.L.T.H. For Youths, announced she will be moving on from her position as chair of the task force, but will remain a part of the organization in an emeritus position.

“I just want to say that being chair of the Staten Island Hunger Task Force has been an actual great joy in my life. I’ve really loved working with everybody on our committee. It’s a real family,” Butts told the attendees.

Elections to the task force are held annually, with members nominating each other and themselves for positions.

Elected to assume Butts’ station was vice chair Antoinette Donegan; elected to Donegan’s position was Alex Hughes; and elected to secretary was Steven Kaufman.

Microgrants awarded

Butts announced that the task force will disperse a dozen microgrants to local organizations, which include:

Central Family Life CenterChristchurch New BrightonFirst Central Economic Development CorpHarvest Food PantryJewish Community Center of Staten IslandPolice Officer Gerard Carter FoundationPS 18 Muslim Sisters of Staten IslandThe Rabbinical Alliance of America Staten Island Giving CircleSt. John’s Food Pantry St. Paul’s UMC South Shore Food Pantry

The awards will be distributed directly to the pantries listed above, with members visiting each location.

501(c)(3) application

The task force is in the process of applying for its 501(c)(3) paperwork.

A 501(c)(3) is a type of organization that is recognized by the IRS, exempting it from federal taxes. These organizations specifically “are charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition, and preventing cruelty to children or animals,” according to the IRS.

A law firm is working with the task force to pursue this change.

If the task force is approved 501(c)(3), it would give them an opportunity to extend leadership beyond one-year terms.

Pet food

Director of the Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare Alex Silver visited the meeting to discuss the needs of pantries in terms of pet food.

“There’s an overlap with human and animal welfare and wellbeing,” Silver said. “These are not separate silos, or they shouldn’t be, and there’s so much we can do if we work together.”

Silver explained that a large chunk of the animals that come into the Animal Care Centers of New York City — the city’s adoption and surrender nonprofit — are surrendered by New Yorkers who cannot afford to pay for pet food.

“I think the argument that we want to make is that there’s such a value to the human-animal bond, and it shouldn’t be only the wealthiest among us who can benefit from it,” Silver said.

Despite having the space to accommodate large pallets of pet food, many pantries in the task force agreed that it is a funding issue.

Pet food often comes from donations to Staten Island pantries and generally goes quickly when the pantries are open.

There is legislation, according to Silver, that would compel “the Health Department to create a pet food pantry,” though it has yet to be voted on.