VCA Charities, Hill’s mark 1 million meals for pets in need

Marking the serving of one million meals to pets in need, VCA Charities and Hill’s Pet Nutrition celebrated the major milestone in their five-year partnership at the St. Joseph’s Center in Venice, California, USA, where the pet food assistance partnership began in 2010.
The partnership with Hill’s helps support the VCA Pet Food Pantry program, initiated by VCA Charities five years ago to provide pet food to pet parents stricken by the economic downturn. At that time, an increasing number of pets were being taken to animal hospitals for euthanasia or abandoned when their owners could no longer bear the cost of caring for them.
Since that time, the VCA Pet Food Pantry program has expanded to more than 20 locations throughout the United States and Canada, providing free pet food to clients of existing food pantries.
“We started the Pet Food Pantry program to provide healthy, nutritious pet food to families who could not otherwise afford it in the local communities we serve,” said Art Antin, chief operating officer for VCA Animal Hospitals. “By providing these one million free meals, we have helped many families in need hold on to the loving and comforting bond their pets provide.”
St. Joseph Center’s Executive Director Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum said: “The Food Pantry is the primary gateway to St. Joseph Center's efforts to help working poor families achieve and maintain stability as they make their way toward lasting self-sufficiency. With the VCA Pet Food Pantry on-site, our families don’t have the additional burden of worrying how they will be able to feed their companion animals.”
Working with VCA Charities, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, the maker of the Science Diet, Prescription Diet and Ideal Balance brands, currently donates premium pet food to more than half of the VCA Pet Food Pantries across the US, and has made a commitment to expand the current partnership by supporting additional pet food pantries with pet food donations over the next few years.
“Our mission at Hill’s is to help enrich and lengthen the special relationships between people and their pets,” said Kostas Kontopanos, president of Hill’s Pet Nutrition, North America. “We want to help transform lives, and this partnership with VCA Charities allows us to do that by keeping a pet with its family during a time of need when its unconditional love is most needed.”
In furthering its mission, Hill’s has a long-standing history of helping pets in need through its Food, Shelter & Love program, which has donated more than $280 million worth of Hill’s Science Diet brand foods to more than 1,000 shelters in the U.S.
Hill’s also comes to the aid of communities impacted by disaster. In the past two years, the Hill’s Disaster Relief Network has delivered free pet food to 60 shelters and veterinary clinics across the country in response to 25 major incidents to feed displaced pets.
VCA Charities continues to support programs, organizations, and causes that promote pet healthcare education, proactive veterinary care, proper pet nutrition, and prevention of cruelty to animals. In furthering its mission, VCA Charities partners with the American Red Cross in their Disaster Relief Network, and provides free exams, boarding, and vaccinations for pets displaced or injured during a disaster or emergency.

Petfood Forum 2014 provides opportunities to give back to pet community

Petfood Forum 2014 will offer multiple opportunities for convention-goers looking for ways to give back directly to the pet community. 

test
Visits with pets from Tree House Humane Society will be available on Tuesday, April 1, from 9:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Schaumburg East Foyer outside the exhibit hall. Tree House Humane Society rescues and rehabilitates stray cats-often ill, injured or abused-for adoption. Steve Dale, the opening keynote for Petfood Forum 2014, serves on the board of directors. Tree House supports Chicago-area pets in many other ways, including a petfood pantry that is seeking new donation partners. Cash donations are also welcome. Please contact Ollie Davidson, director of programs, at Ollie@treehouseanimals.org. 
On Tuesday, April 1, from 2:25 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., and Wednesday, April 2, from 9:25 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., Petfood Forum attendees can meet Joseph Worley, America's VetDogs' graduate, and his service dog Benjamin, in the Schaumburg East Foyer. Learn from Worley, who served in Iraq as a US Navy corpsman, how his service dog changed his life. Worley and Benjamin are visiting with Wells Jones, CEO of America's VetDogs and the Guide Dog Foundation, and Petfood Forum 2014's closing keynote; and Katherine Fritz. The Guide Dog Foundation and America's VetDogs provide guide and service dogs at no charge-and team the right dog with the right person-to ensure someone with visual or physical disabilities can live a life without boundaries.
Both groups' visits are courtesy of Trouw Nutrition USA.

Blue Dog Bakery launches second year of Pet Treat Pantry

Blue Dog Bakery launched its second year of Pet Treat Pantry, a partnership between the Seattle, Washington, USA-based natural dog treat company and select food banks in Washington, Oregon, Arizona, North Carolina and New Jersey. The partnership provides healthy treats to the dogs of food bank clients.  
Pet Treat Pantry invites consumers to purchase a specially marked box of Blue Dog Bakery dog treats and register their donation online using the code found on the box to select one of the participating food banks to direct their donation. For each code registered, Blue Dog Bakery will send a box of treats to the selected foodbank.
"Developing and launching Pet Treat Pantry in 2012 was hugely rewarding for Blue Dog Bakery," said Kyle Polanski, CEO of Blue Dog Bakery. "With the help of consumers, we were able to donate over 2.5 tons of healthy dog treats to our food bank partners. We are excited to continue the program, and are hoping we can top last year's donation total!"
To kick off the 2013 Pet Treat Pantry, Blue Dog Bakery has already donated 3,768 pounds of Blue Dog Bakery treats to five participating food banks across the country. Over the next four months, shoppers can help donate 20,000 more boxes to five organizations. Participating USA food banks include: 
•    Rainier Valley Food Bank - Seattle, Washington
•    The Pongo Fund - Portland, Oregon
•    Empty Bowl Pet Food Pantry - Phoenix, Arizona
•    Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina - Charlotte, North Carolina
•    The Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties - Neptune, New Jersey
"Since Hurricane Sandy, our distribution has increased by 20 percent," said Linda Keenan, director of development for the Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties in Neptune. "We recognize that a family includes pets and many of these families struggle every day to provide for just their children. We want to make sure when we are assisting these families we are including their pets, and the partnership with Blue Dog Bakery and the Pet Treat Pantry program allows us to do just that - and make a difference."

Petfood distribution grant from Banfield Charitable Trust helps low-income seniors

Banfield Charitable Trust recently provided low-income seniors at Old Colony Elder Services in Brockton, Massachusetts, USA, with a petfood distribution grant.
"Low-income seniors are among America's millions struggling with hunger and food insecurity. Many seniors and individuals with disabilities receive nutritious daily meals through Old Colony's Meals on Wheels program. In an effort to keep seniors and their beloved pets well-nourished, Old Colony now also provides nutrition support for their pets," said Old Colony's enterprising executive director, Diana DiGiorgi.
Meals on Wheels volunteers noticed the need after seeing that some recipients who could not afford petfood were also sharing their human food meals with their pet. 
The US$2,500 grant helps Old Colony purchase and distribute dog food and cat food to clients, allowing them to remain in their homes and still care for their pets. Old Colony was already receiving help from Hanson Grain Co., which has donated a considerable amount of dog food, DiGiorgi said. So, the Banfield grant allows Old Colony to expand services and equally divide the money between dog and cat food. 

Washington, USA, church breaks world record for petfood collected in seven days

Living Hope Church in Vancouver, Washington, USA, recently collected 19,600 pounds of petfood in seven days to break a Guinness world record held for seven years by a South African supermarket. The collection of petfood by the church sets a new world record for "Largest donation of pet food in seven days," according to the World Record Academy.
The church collected the petfood from April 30-May 5. Senior pastor, John Bishop, said nearly two-thirds of the petfood collected was dog food, but hose feed, goldfish flakes and small animal food was also collected. After being weighed, the petfood was donated to a handful of Clark County animal charities, including 4,000 pounds to the Humane Society for Southwest Washington and 769 pounds to Northwest Battle Buddies, which provides service dogs to combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The previous Guiness world record was set at the Pick 'n' Pay Supermarket in Boksburg, South Africa. The 13,011 pounds, 3 ounces of petfood collected from September 1-7, 2006, was donated to the Boksburg Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.  

Pet owner gives back by starting pet food pantry

One pet owner, whose dog underwent thousands of dollars in surgery and veterinary care that was raised through a social media campaign, is giving back by starting a pet food pantry called Callie Cares Inc.
Betsy Alt's dog, Callie, underwent $4,000 in surgery and veterinary care to repair torn ligaments in her leg. Now, her pet food pantry Callie Cares Inc. is giving back to the Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, community and has already received more than 200 pounds of pet food and a couple hundred dollars in donations.
“I think what surprised me is that people I didn't know at all were willing to help and get involved," Alt says. "Now some of them are getting involved with this organization as well."

Blue Dog Bakery launches Pet Treat Pantry

Blue Dog Bakery has launched the Pet Treat Pantry, a partnership between the Seattle, Washington, USA-based all-natural dog treat company and select food banks in Washington, Oregon, Arizona, North Carolina and New Jersey.
The partnership will provide treats to the dogs of food bank clients. To start the Pet Treat Pantry, Blue Dog Bakery donated 4,572 boxes of Blue Dog Bakery treats to five participating food banks across the country. Through December 2012, for each shopper who purchases a specially marked box of Blue Dog Bakery treats, the company will donate a box to the Pet Treat Pantry, up to 100,000 boxes. Customers can enter the registration code found on the box online and select one of five participating food banks to direct their donation.
Participating Pet Treat Pantry food banks in the USA include:
• Rainier Valley Food Bank – Seattle, Washington
• The Pongo Fund – Portland, Oregon
• Empty Bowl Pet Food Pantry – Phoenix, Arizona
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina – Charlotte, North Carolina
• The Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties – Neptune, New Jersey
“Food banks ease the hunger of those in need, but we seldom think about the pets that live with them,” said Sam Osborne, executive director of the Rainer Valley Food Bank in Seattle. “Hunger is an issue that touches the lives of dogs just as much as their owners. Our pets are our families in every sense of the word, and are often one of the most important things getting these individuals through tough times. For a dog, treats say ’I love you’ and to be able to provide healthy treats for our families with pets is something truly special.”

Petfood bank need grows as economy gets worse

The economic situation has worsened for many Americans, contributing to a growing need for more pet food banks in order to keep up with demands for pet food from struggling pet owners, says an article from USA Today. 

The number of animals at shelters and rescues has escalated along with euthanasia rates, while rescue groups struggle to take in and feed the many animals being relinquished. As a result, more pet pantries are emerging and shelters are working to temporarily provide free food to pet owners in financial need who would otherwise be forced to give up their pet. The need for pet food is so great that even some human food pantries are stocking pet food.
Petfood pantry owners, like Ann King of Save Our Pets Food Bank, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, are working more to get petfood donations and distribute those to pet owners who need it most.
"Many people out there imagine the pet crisis has passed," King says. "It most certainly has not. It was dire before, and it has gotten worse."  
King is also part of an alliance, Rescue Bank, that was formed to give other pet food bank owners a chance to come together and strategize ways to get more food, primarily from petfood manufacturers who regularly throw out soon-to-expire or rebranded food. Rescue Bank has already set up 25 distribution partners in several states to allow the group to get the pet food to more places, more frequently, and the group is working toward a goal of 100 partners in the next two years.
In five months, more than 500 non-profit animal welfare and social service agencies have received petfood, and King predicts as many as 750 will receive food and supplies by the end of the year.

Petfood pantries help needy families provide for and keep pets

In today's poor economy, many pet owners who can no longer afford to provide for their pets are forced to find them new homes, which is why petfood pantries around the country are becoming popular new ways to assist needy families in feeding and keeping their furry friends.
Randi Helpinstill, recently featured in the Daytona Beach News Journal, founded the Peninsula Pet Pantry with neighbor Geralyn Nelson, after her search to adopt a kitten overwhelmed her with the large number of pets displaced due to the financial hardships of their owners.
"We could not imagine the heartbreak of people having to abandon their pets due to bad economic times, and the shelters were full, the rescues had waiting lists," said Helpinstill.
Pantries like Helpinstill's and the Pikes Peak Pet Pantry of Colorado, USA, which helped her get started, are popping up in high-demand across the country. The mission of these petfood pantries is to provide temporary assistance with petfood and supplies to owners who still want to keep their pets, but currently cannot afford to care for them. Most of these pantries rely on year-round donations from others to provide petfoods and supplies. Donations to Peninsula Pet Pantry can be made by visiting the pantry's website.

Kibble Korner offers new pet food pantry

Kibble Korner Pet Food Pantry in Rockford, Illinois, USA, is helping struggling families get food for their pets during these hard economic times, according to a news report. The families can visit the pantry once a month.
Statistics released by Winnebago County, Illinois, show the number of cats and dogs given up through July this year are up 13% and 14% respectively, compared with a year ago.
The pantry has two locations and is accepting donations at both.