NEW HAVEN, Ind. (WANE) — Some organizations are making extra efforts to feed families during this pandemic, and for one food pantry, that includes your pets.
The Fort Wayne Pet Food Pantry has been a resource for struggling pet owners for a few years now but in light of the pandemic, they’ve been making it as convenient as possible for pet owners to get the supplies they need.
The pantry has been hosting pop-up distribution sites at their main building at 2502 Church St. as well as the New Haven Community Center and different places in Roanoke. During the designated hours, people can drive up and receive free dry and wet food for their dog or cat as well as treats. Founder Pam Tracy said doing this relieves some of the financial stress pet ownership can bring, and that when families can hold onto their furry friends, it benefits local shelters.
“By providing free pet food to people who need it, not only are we able to keep those pets at home with their families but we can try to help the number of pets that are getting surrendered at the shelters and potentially ultimately euthanized at the shelter so it kind of helps different areas,” said Tracy.
The organization started the pop-up distributions during the pandemic to make it more convenient for pet owners who live further away from their main building. While they have seen the demand grow week-by-week, Tracy said there were concerns that donations would drop off as people conserved their money but are fortunate to not have run into that issue as of yet.
“We have been very pleasantly surprised with the level of donations during the pandemic,” said Tracy. “One of our biggest was that donations would drop based on the economy and on the unemployment rate but people in the community have really pulled together to keep our program going.”
While donations have not stopped, Tracy said their supply has fluctuated based on what people are needing and they currently are running lower on dry cat food and wet dog food. For information on how to donate, head over to their website.
The next food distributions will take place at 2502 Church St. on November 7, Nov. 21, December 5, and Dec. 19 from 10:00-12:00 pm. Distributions will be held at the New Haven Community Center on Nov. 12 and Dec. 10 from 5:30-6:30 pm.
