Food Bank’s FY’26 Borough Chat Series

Thursday, September 25th, 2025, Member Services kicked off Food Bank’s FY26 Borough Chat Series with our Manhattan & Staten Island Borough Chat! The event was held at our very own Food Bank Member Agency, The Red Door Place.

Over 30 member attendees representing different Manhattan & Staten Island agencies came together in one space as well as other Food Bankers and External Organizations. The day was filled with peer discussion, resource-sharing, and collaboration.

In the spirit of peer discussions & expertise, all the presenters and panelists featured member agency leaders from Manhattan & Staten Island agencies! The day began with an informative presentation on the topic Adapting to Evolving Community Needs from Alex Hughes (Project Hospitality). Following that was a wonderful presentation from Jennifer Estrada (Isaacs Holmes Food Pantry) on Equity & Access to Food and Services. Lastly, after lunch we sat down with Paul Kwon (Cabrini Immigrant Services), Louis Kang (The Red Door Place), and Paloma Wasserstein (Jewish Community Center of Staten Island) to discuss the topic Sustainability in the context of an Emergency Food Relief Organization. We were also thrilled to be able to provide ‘vendor’ tabling opportunities throughout the day to prioritize collaborative community partnerships & development of programs. These tables included representatives from FBNYC Advocacy & Public Affairs, FBNYC Tired Engagement Network (TEN), Able Health Care, NYC Commission on Human Rights, NYC Service, NYC Health + Hospitals, and New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC)!