Animal Welfare Professionals

Hi, I'm a volunteer at Brandywine Valley SPCA near Philadelphia. We use PetPoint to manage animal intake, care, adoptions, outcomes, etc. We currently also (try to) use it to manage the people eligible to receive food assistance, how much food they have been given, what animals they own, etc. Because it isn't really designed to manage food dispensed it can be too complex to use, therefore the data on how much food was given over time is not as accurate as it should be. And using data extracts to analyze things (e.g., how much food has been given per person, per shelter site, over time) is challenging.

I have been developing a simple app specifically to manage this - list of people by site, what animals of what type and characteristics they own and used to own, and what food of what types has been given to them on what date. It isn't web based, but could be installed by anyone (with some setup). The attachment shows what it looks like.

Shelters would not need to buy any software to use it. It does require a Windows PC to run on (as many PC's as you want for simultaneous use). My intent is to let anyone use the app for free, and I could help set it up on a volunteer basis. You'd probably need someone local (e.g., a volunteer) with some technical savvy to help in use.

For those technically inclined it is built using Microsoft Access and stores the data in a database (SQL Server, which can be hosted inside a network or in the cloud). I would be building reports (such as, food given over time, trend of animals owned aka "herd size" by person over time, etc.) but the data could be used with most any tool to do your own.

If anyone might find this useful please comment or private message.

Thanks for sharing the details of what you've been working on. It sounds like you've put a lot of thought into tailoring the app for food pantry program needs, especially with the ability to track households, animals, and food distributions over time. The reporting features you mentioned, like food trends and changes in herd size, would definitely be helpful for shelters trying to understand demand and resource allocation.

I'm curious, have you tested it with multiple sites or just at Brandywine so far? Also, since it runs on Microsoft Access and SQL Server, do you see any limitations for smaller shelters that may not have much technical support available?

Appreciate you making this accessible to others, having options beyond PetPoint for pantry tracking could be really valuable.

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Saranggre Will
N/A
N/A
CO

Original Message:
Sent: 08-26-2025 07:01 PM
From: Peter Isakson
Subject: Seeking info on how data is managed for Pet Food Pantry programs

Hi, I'm a volunteer at Brandywine Valley SPCA near Philadelphia. We use PetPoint to manage animal intake, care, adoptions, outcomes, etc. We currently also (try to) use it to manage the people eligible to receive food assistance, how much food they have been given, what animals they own, etc. Because it isn't really designed to manage food dispensed it can be too complex to use, therefore the data on how much food was given over time is not as accurate as it should be. And using data extracts to analyze things (e.g., how much food has been given per person, per shelter site, over time) is challenging.

I have been developing a simple app specifically to manage this - list of people by site, what animals of what type and characteristics they own and used to own, and what food of what types has been given to them on what date. It isn't web based, but could be installed by anyone (with some setup). The attachment shows what it looks like.

Shelters would not need to buy any software to use it. It does require a Windows PC to run on (as many PC's as you want for simultaneous use). My intent is to let anyone use the app for free, and I could help set it up on a volunteer basis. You'd probably need someone local (e.g., a volunteer) with some technical savvy to help in use.

For those technically inclined it is built using Microsoft Access and stores the data in a database (SQL Server, which can be hosted inside a network or in the cloud). I would be building reports (such as, food given over time, trend of animals owned aka "herd size" by person over time, etc.) but the data could be used with most any tool to do your own.

If anyone might find this useful please comment or private message.

#AccesstoCare
#DataandTechnology
#PetSupportServices*

------------------------------
Peter Isakson
Volunteer
Brandywine Valley SPCA
PA
------------------------------

Hi, I'm a volunteer at Brandywine Valley SPCA near Philadelphia. We use PetPoint to manage animal intake, care, adoptions, outcomes, etc. We currently also (try to) use it to manage the people eligible to receive food assistance, how much food they have been given, what animals they own, etc. Because it isn't really designed to manage food dispensed it can be too complex to use, therefore the data on how much food was given over time is not as accurate as it should be. And using data extracts to analyze things (e.g., how much food has been given per person, per shelter site, over time) is challenging.

I have been developing a simple app specifically to manage this - list of people by site, what animals of what type and characteristics they own and used to own, and what food of what types has been given to them on what date. It isn't web based, but could be installed by anyone (with some setup). The attachment shows what it looks like.

Shelters would not need to buy any software to use it. It does require a Windows PC to run on (as many PC's as you want for simultaneous use). My intent is to let anyone use the app for free, and I could help set it up on a volunteer basis. You'd probably need someone local (e.g., a volunteer) with some technical savvy to help in use.

For those technically inclined it is built using Microsoft Access and stores the data in a database (SQL Server, which can be hosted inside a network or in the cloud). I would be building reports (such as, food given over time, trend of animals owned aka "herd size" by person over time, etc.) but the data could be used with most any tool to do your own.

If anyone might find this useful please comment or private message.

This is wonderful! We are interested in the application when it's up and running. It's always a struggle to keep track of statistics in our Pet Food Pantry.

------------------------------
Animal Protection Society - Friday Harbor
Private, Nonprofit Animal Welfare Organization
Friday Harbor, Washington

Original Message:
Sent: 08-26-2025 07:01 PM
From: Peter Isakson
Subject: Seeking info on how data is managed for Pet Food Pantry programs

Hi, I'm a volunteer at Brandywine Valley SPCA near Philadelphia. We use PetPoint to manage animal intake, care, adoptions, outcomes, etc. We currently also (try to) use it to manage the people eligible to receive food assistance, how much food they have been given, what animals they own, etc. Because it isn't really designed to manage food dispensed it can be too complex to use, therefore the data on how much food was given over time is not as accurate as it should be. And using data extracts to analyze things (e.g., how much food has been given per person, per shelter site, over time) is challenging.

I have been developing a simple app specifically to manage this - list of people by site, what animals of what type and characteristics they own and used to own, and what food of what types has been given to them on what date. It isn't web based, but could be installed by anyone (with some setup). The attachment shows what it looks like.

Shelters would not need to buy any software to use it. It does require a Windows PC to run on (as many PC's as you want for simultaneous use). My intent is to let anyone use the app for free, and I could help set it up on a volunteer basis. You'd probably need someone local (e.g., a volunteer) with some technical savvy to help in use.

For those technically inclined it is built using Microsoft Access and stores the data in a database (SQL Server, which can be hosted inside a network or in the cloud). I would be building reports (such as, food given over time, trend of animals owned aka "herd size" by person over time, etc.) but the data could be used with most any tool to do your own.

If anyone might find this useful please comment or private message.

#AccesstoCare
#DataandTechnology
#PetSupportServices*

------------------------------
Peter Isakson
Volunteer
Brandywine Valley SPCA
PA
------------------------------

Hi, I'm a volunteer at Brandywine Valley SPCA near Philadelphia. We use PetPoint to manage animal intake, care, adoptions, outcomes, etc. We currently also (try to) use it to manage the people eligible to receive food assistance, how much food they have been given, what animals they own, etc. Because it isn't really designed to manage food dispensed it can be too complex to use, therefore the data on how much food was given over time is not as accurate as it should be. And using data extracts to analyze things (e.g., how much food has been given per person, per shelter site, over time) is challenging.

I have been developing a simple app specifically to manage this - list of people by site, what animals of what type and characteristics they own and used to own, and what food of what types has been given to them on what date. It isn't web based, but could be installed by anyone (with some setup). The attachment shows what it looks like.

Shelters would not need to buy any software to use it. It does require a Windows PC to run on (as many PC's as you want for simultaneous use). My intent is to let anyone use the app for free, and I could help set it up on a volunteer basis. You'd probably need someone local (e.g., a volunteer) with some technical savvy to help in use.

For those technically inclined it is built using Microsoft Access and stores the data in a database (SQL Server, which can be hosted inside a network or in the cloud). I would be building reports (such as, food given over time, trend of animals owned aka "herd size" by person over time, etc.) but the data could be used with most any tool to do your own.

If anyone might find this useful please comment or private message.

I would love to be notified when this is available! 

Thank you 

Hi, I'm a volunteer at Brandywine Valley SPCA near Philadelphia. We use PetPoint to manage animal intake, care, adoptions, outcomes, etc. We currently also (try to) use it to manage the people eligible to receive food assistance, how much food they have been given, what animals they own, etc. Because it isn't really designed to manage food dispensed it can be too complex to use, therefore the data on how much food was given over time is not as accurate as it should be. And using data extracts to analyze things (e.g., how much food has been given per person, per shelter site, over time) is challenging.

I have been developing a simple app specifically to manage this - list of people by site, what animals of what type and characteristics they own and used to own, and what food of what types has been given to them on what date. It isn't web based, but could be installed by anyone (with some setup). The attachment shows what it looks like.

Shelters would not need to buy any software to use it. It does require a Windows PC to run on (as many PC's as you want for simultaneous use). My intent is to let anyone use the app for free, and I could help set it up on a volunteer basis. You'd probably need someone local (e.g., a volunteer) with some technical savvy to help in use.

For those technically inclined it is built using Microsoft Access and stores the data in a database (SQL Server, which can be hosted inside a network or in the cloud). I would be building reports (such as, food given over time, trend of animals owned aka "herd size" by person over time, etc.) but the data could be used with most any tool to do your own.

If anyone might find this useful please comment or private message.