Hi Abbey,
We recently, four months ago, started a pet food bank at our farm and exotic animal sanctuary in south Florida and are looking for ways to improve our program. We are in a rural area and are trying to fill a need that was once covered by a local people food bank that closed due to lack of funding. One of the most requested items the food bank was asked for was pet food for cats, dogs and farm animals such as rabbits and chickens. We are a volunteer run organization including our board of directors and the food bank distribution, set up, etc has fallen to my husband and myself. We distribute food and supplies only once a month on the last Saturday. Our pickup is not "open to the public" We have a simple application that recipients must fill out. They must list their address to show they are in our area, # of pets by species and self attest that they are in need. A few days before the food bank we send out a text or email reminder which them must reply if they are able to attend. So far this has worked well but we are still small so it may have to change as we grow.
To get the word out we were given free advertising in our local newspaper and we share on all our social media pages and our email blasts. I write for a south Florida print pet magazine and they have also included free ads regarding our food bank.
To make sure we are sustainable, I have reached out to local business in neighboring towns (the closest store to our sanctuary is 25 minutes away) and have received wonderful support. Currently we receive donated pet food and supplies from two family owned pet stores and a large dog/cat nonprofit. Of course most of the items we receive from them are damaged bags and close to date items, one of the stores allows each of their employees to choose an item from the shelf to donate as well. We have also applied for grants and received one from our local walmart specifically to purchase food for the food bank. We have also reached out to Chewy for donations. They will not do a monthly donation but they did send us $150 worth of food. The rep for the Miami distribution center is actually going to be visiting our sanctuary this Saturday so fingers crossed they may do more in the future.
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Lisa Burn
Co-founder/VP
Farmhouse Animal & Nature Sanctuary
Myakka City, FL
https://farmhousesanctuary.org------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 12-06-2023 12:52 PM
From: Abbey Youker
Subject: Pet Food Pantry Parameters
Hello!
I am the Pet Support Services Coordinator with the Animal Rescue League of Iowa. We have hosted a Drive-Up Pet Food Pantry twice a month since the beginning of the pandemic. On top of the Drive-Up Pantry we have done our best to supply Food Pantries across the City of Des Moines and provide re-bagged pet food at our 2 shelter locations for walk-in's. We are now moving into a brand new building that will not have the storage needed to supply our Drive-Up Pantry.
My question to you all is, does your shelter host a pet food pantry? If so, what parameters have you put in place to ensure both the sustainability of that program and that you are hitting your target audience?
Thank you!!!
#PetSupportServices*
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Abbey Youker
Pet Support Services Coordinator
Animal Rescue League of Iowa
IA
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