Three food pantries a few blocks apart in the East Village are now handing out free dog and cat food alongside groceries. They are among 22 city-funded pantries across the five boroughs that began offering pet food on October 19, under a program the city announced on October 15.

The East Village sites

  • The Father's Heart Ministries, 543-545 East 11th Street, between Avenues A and B. The nonprofit has run a soup kitchen and food pantry since it was incorporated in 1997.
  • The Lower Eastside Girls Club, 402 East 8th Street, between Avenues C and D.
  • Trinity's Services and Food for the Homeless, 602 East 9th Street, at Avenue B.

The city's list includes three more Manhattan pantries: Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen Pantry at 296 Ninth Avenue in Chelsea, St. Clemens Food Pantry at 423 West 46th Street, and New York Common Pantry at 8 East 109th Street.

How the program works

The pet food comes through the same pantries where New Yorkers already pick up groceries. The city set aside $500,000 to stock pet food at the participating sites. It was announced by Mayor Zohran Mamdani with the City Council, the Mayor's Office of Animal Welfare and the Department of Social Services.

The pantries are part of the Department of Social Services' Community Food Connection program, which supports more than 700 food pantries citywide. The city says it tripled that program's baseline funding and, with the Council, put $78 million toward food distribution in Fiscal Year 2027.

Across the city

Brooklyn has six of the 22 sites, including Community Help in Park Slope, St. John's Bread and Life and the YMCA Community Market. The Bronx and Queens have four each, and Staten Island has two, at Project Hospitality and Feeding with TLC.

Before you go

The city's announcement does not list hours, eligibility rules or a sign-up process for the pet food, and pantry schedules vary, so check with the pantry directly before you visit.

The three East Village pantries are a short walk from the L train at First Avenue and the F at Second Avenue.

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