Have you ever opened a new bag of dog food, and your pup turns up her nose? It\u2019s happened many times at my house \u2014 in fact, I\u2019m convinced that my Chiweenie is the pickiest eater on the planet.<\/p>\n
If she only knew how lucky she is. After speaking to Eileen Lambert, executive director of Colorado Pet Pantry<\/a>, a food bank for animals, I learned that many dogs don\u2019t get the luxury of being picky eaters. They are lucky if they get a meal at all.<\/p>\n \u201cI have clients tell me they have to make a choice between paying rent and their utilities and buying pet food,\u201d says Eileen, who started the Denver-based nonprofit in 2013 when, as a shelter volunteer, she noticed dogs were consistently given up because their owners couldn\u2019t afford to take care of them.<\/p>\n Now, Eileen and her team have grown Colorado Pet Pantry into the largest pet food bank in the country, she says, with 45 locations throughout Colorado, plus 90 donation bins at local businesses. By collecting donations, such as that opened bag of dog food that your dog refuses to eat, in 2019, the organization fed 3.7 million meals to pets.<\/p>\n Colorado Pet Pantry is the largest pet food bank in the country and fed 3.7 million meals to pets in 2019. Photo: Steve Hostetler\/Colorado Pet Pantry<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Pet food isn\u2019t covered under food stamps or other subsidized programs, yet it\u2019s frequently requested at food banks for people. Pet owners end up using food allocated for themselves to feed their animals, says Eileen, who found that by giving out pet food, it frees up money for other pet costs like housing and vet expenses.<\/p>\n This, in turn, keeps these pets \u2014 sometimes a homeless person\u2019s sole companion \u2014 out of the shelters.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can keep an animal in its loving home, that\u2019s truly the best situation for everyone,\u201d she says, adding that it costs shelters about $500 \u2014 between intake, food, boarding, training and vet care \u2014 to rehome an animal.<\/p>\n The pet food banks are set up similarly to human food banks with the goal of covering 50 percent of people\u2019s pet food costs, Eileen says of this traditional charity model that encourages people to work out their own expenses for half the year and get back on their feet.<\/p>\n Some of the pet pantry\u2019s larger locations, situated near human food banks, can hold enough food to feed 100 to 200 animals per month.<\/p>\n The organization also partners with housing complexes, shelters, universities, senior centers and other nonprofits to distribute food, typically through a volunteer point person, to have it available for individuals who frequent those locations.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s extremely efficient,\u201d Eileen says.<\/p>\n For more information on the Colorado Pet Food Pantry, see coloradopetpantry.org<\/a>. Photo: Steve Hostetler\/Colorado Pet Pantry<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Much of the food that the pet pantry distributes was on its way to the landfill, discarded by owners of picky pets or companies that changed their packaging label or have damaged goods, for example, if the packaging got wet on a delivery truck while it was raining. Eileen partners with these companies and local pet stores that donate their kibble that\u2019s about to expire and can\u2019t be sold on the shelves.<\/p>\n She also collects other dog supplies, such as collars, leashes and toys.<\/p>\n The supplies are kept in a warehouse, and in 2017 Eileen had the idea of sharing them with local animal welfare organizations, which, ultimately, are all working toward the same cause.<\/p>\n \u201cThe animal rescues don\u2019t need to spend hard-owned donations on dog food,\u201d she says, adding that it\u2019s also a place where these organizations can store supplies like crates for transports that they might need occasionally.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s become a library,\u201d she says of the 87 organizations that participate.<\/p>\n The program is still growing as Eileen expands outreach and opens more food banks across the state.<\/p>\n \u201cIt gives everyone a way to work together,\u201d she says. \u201cLet\u2019s do this for the animals.\u201d<\/p>\n Top photograph: Steve Hostetler\/Colorado Pet Pantry<\/em><\/p>\n Read Next: 5 Ways to Shop Online and Help Dogs at the Same Time<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The post Helping Feed Pets in Need<\/a> by Lauren Katims<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n The post Helping Feed Pets in Need<\/a> by Lauren Katims<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n Have you ever opened a new bag of dog food, and your pup turns up her nose? It\u2019s happened many times at my house \u2014 in fact, I\u2019m convinced that my Chiweenie is the pickiest eater on the planet.<\/p>\n If she only knew how lucky she is. After speaking to Eileen Lambert, executive director of Colorado Pet Pantry<\/a>, a food bank for animals, I learned that many dogs don\u2019t get the luxury of being picky eaters. They are lucky if they get a meal at all.<\/p>\n \u201cI have clients tell me they have to make a choice between paying rent and their utilities and buying pet food,\u201d says Eileen, who started the Denver-based nonprofit in 2013 when, as a shelter volunteer, she noticed dogs were consistently given up because their owners couldn\u2019t afford to take care of them.<\/p>\n Now, Eileen and her team have grown Colorado Pet Pantry into the largest pet food bank in the country, she says, with 45 locations throughout Colorado, plus 90 donation bins at local businesses. By collecting donations, such as that opened bag of dog food that your dog refuses to eat, in 2019, the organization fed 3.7 million meals to pets.<\/p>\n Colorado Pet Pantry is the largest pet food bank in the country and fed 3.7 million meals to pets in 2019. Photo: Steve Hostetler\/Colorado Pet Pantry<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Pet food isn\u2019t covered under food stamps or other subsidized programs, yet it\u2019s frequently requested at food banks for people. Pet owners end up using food allocated for themselves to feed their animals, says Eileen, who found that by giving out pet food, it frees up money for other pet costs like housing and vet expenses.<\/p>\n This, in turn, keeps these pets \u2014 sometimes a homeless person\u2019s sole companion \u2014 out of the shelters.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can keep an animal in its loving home, that\u2019s truly the best situation for everyone,\u201d she says, adding that it costs shelters about $500 \u2014 between intake, food, boarding, training and vet care \u2014 to rehome an animal.<\/p>\n The pet food banks are set up similarly to human food banks with the goal of covering 50 percent of people\u2019s pet food costs, Eileen says of this traditional charity model that encourages people to work out their own expenses for half the year and get back on their feet.<\/p>\n Some of the pet pantry\u2019s larger locations, situated near human food banks, can hold enough food to feed 100 to 200 animals per month.<\/p>\n The organization also partners with housing complexes, shelters, universities, senior centers and other nonprofits to distribute food, typically through a volunteer point person, to have it available for individuals who frequent those locations.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s extremely efficient,\u201d Eileen says.<\/p>\n For more information on the Colorado Pet Food Pantry, see coloradopetpantry.org<\/a>. Photo: Steve Hostetler\/Colorado Pet Pantry<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Much of the food that the pet pantry distributes was on its way to the landfill, discarded by owners of picky pets or companies that changed their packaging label or have damaged goods, for example, if the packaging got wet on a delivery truck while it was raining. Eileen partners with these companies and local pet stores that donate their kibble that\u2019s about to expire and can\u2019t be sold on the shelves.<\/p>\n She also collects other dog supplies, such as collars, leashes and toys.<\/p>\n The supplies are kept in a warehouse, and in 2017 Eileen had the idea of sharing them with local animal welfare organizations, which, ultimately, are all working toward the same cause.<\/p>\n \u201cThe animal rescues don\u2019t need to spend hard-owned donations on dog food,\u201d she says, adding that it\u2019s also a place where these organizations can store supplies like crates for transports that they might need occasionally.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s become a library,\u201d she says of the 87 organizations that participate.<\/p>\n The program is still growing as Eileen expands outreach and opens more food banks across the state.<\/p>\n \u201cIt gives everyone a way to work together,\u201d she says. \u201cLet\u2019s do this for the animals.\u201d<\/p>\n Top photograph: Steve Hostetler\/Colorado Pet Pantry<\/em><\/p>\n Read Next: 5 Ways to Shop Online and Help Dogs at the Same Time<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The post Helping Feed Pets in Need<\/a> by Lauren Katims<\/a> appeared first on Dogster<\/a>. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"how](\"http:\/\/www.dogster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/2002_PP-Action-0486.png\")
<\/p>\nBenefiting pets, owners and shelters<\/h2>\n
Getting food to the pups who need it<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.dogster.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/2020_PP-Action-0494.png\")
<\/p>\nDonations<\/h2>\n
The animal welfare share program<\/h2>\n
#PawsForThisCause<\/a>: What you can do to help<\/h2>\n
\n
<\/p>\nBenefiting pets, owners and shelters<\/h2>\n
Getting food to the pups who need it<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\nDonations<\/h2>\n
The animal welfare share program<\/h2>\n
#PawsForThisCause<\/a>: What you can do to help<\/h2>\n
\n