Day 27 of the US government shutdown. Food banks are helping feed furloughed federal employees. Animal shelters are helping feed their pets. This is short-term desperate need. These are people with jobs. Many are still working, but not getting pay cheques. So volunteer and community groups are trying to minimize the damage. Here’s my St. Thomas Dog Blog post from March 13, 2011 on ten weeks into operating a pet food bank. A bit of inspiration, I hope.
Ten Weeks = 1,071 pounds of kibble
Ten weeks, nine donation boxes and a town of 35,000 people equals over 1,000 pounds of dog and cat kibble. That’s what’s been donated to the Caring Pet Cupboard so far, plus cans and treats. I am absolutely astounded – and delighted and proud.
In 2½ months – from the end of December to March 12 – we have received 1,071 lbs of dog and cat kibble for the Caring Pet Cupboard. There’s also been 97 cans of dog and cat food, packages of treats, a box of litter, and some dog toys. Plus there’s more that has been taken directly to the St. Thomas Food Bank. And food has been taken to Tabby’s Treasures where Pat distributes it.
There has been very little advertising of the project. We had an article in the St. Thomas/Elgin Weekly News (thank you very much). It’s been written about here, on the main STDOA site and the St. Thomas Blog and that’s pretty much it. No significant Facebook presence, no tweets, not even much in the way of flyers.
It’s just people buying a bit extra when they’re in a pet store or vet clinic. Pet food suppliers have also contributed food that hasn’t been purchased rather than throwing it out. People have donated partial bags that their dog or cat wouldn’t eat. There’s nothing wrong with it, just little Miss Finicky doesn’t like it, so why throw it out?
Expansion plans
If the success of this project continues, we are looking to expand our collection and distribution to nearby towns and organizations.
In a time of economic downturn, with layoffs and people having a hard time of it, it’s wonderful to see people helping other people and their animals. So if you happen to hear “oh, people in St. Thomas are so…” just think of this and finish the sentence with “kind-hearted,” “willing to help”. Over half a ton of food in 10 weeks. Not bad, St. Thomas!
At this point. our pet food bank was a two-person operation (plus 3 cat and 2 dog “helpers”). Pick up from donation bins, rebagging in smaller portions, then delivery to the food bank and other distribution points. So it can be done quickly. You need collection bins and bags and labels for rebagging. After this government shutdown is over, there will still be a need for pet food banks. So if you can get one up and running, why not keep doing it?
Maybe a good time to mention Freekibble also – your click gives kibble and litter to shelters. Almost 4 billion pieces of kibble in 10 years – that’s a lot of cat and dog meals!
