National Pet Food Bank Program

Happy New Year from the National Pet Food Bank program!

The year 2023 brought so many exciting developments to the National Pet Food Bank. Between awarding grants, building our network map, and coordinating national pet food donations, we were busy! We look forward to continuing the work of bolstering community supports to help keep families together into 2024.

In our last update, we shared that we were preparing for the fourth cycle of National Pet Food Bank grants, which focused on supporting Indigenous-led programs and those that serve northern or rural areas. We received many incredible applications, and we are pleased to share that after careful consideration from our Grants Review Committee, eight recipients have been selected. The grant recipient organizations and entities span right across the country, and we are excited to follow their journey as they support the people and pets in their communities. We look forward to further supporting the development of these programs in whatever capacity we can.

The National Pet Food Bank has also collaborated once again with Mars Petcare through their Extend a Paw initiative, an event in which each select Mars Petcare product sold at Canadian Walmart stores results in Mars donating a meal to the National Pet Food Bank network. This initiative, which ends at the end of February 2024, has provided the network with more than 400,000 meals to date. Pet food from this initiative has been distributed to more than ten animal rescues and organizations across the country and will feed many animals in need.

Thanks to supporters like you, the National Pet Food Bank continues to support the development of new pet food assistance programs which will help interspecies families during difficult times. We look forward to publishing the National Pet Food Bank map in early 2024 which will make information about how to access these pet food support programs easier to find. Thank you so much for your continued support; it means so much to us, to the organizations we work with, and to so many people and their animals across Canada.

We wish you a happy and healthy 2024 and look forward to continue to share our National Pet Food Bank work with you.

Links:

• https://humanecanada.ca

Hi there,

Thank you so much for you continued support of Humane Canada and our National Pet Food Bank.  Our program has been working hard to develop robust community supports in a time where they are more sought after than ever before. As the financial crisis continues and the effects of climate change cause the displacement of people and animals, many are turning to food banks to help keep themselves and their beloved animals fed. Food banks, both human and pet, can be crucial in keeping interspecies families together during these times of crisis.

In May, we shared that through surveying the animal welfare sector, we were able to take inventory of over 100 organizations across the country that provide pet food assistance services. We’re happy to report that after having surveyed the human welfare sector, this number has grown past 300! We look forward to using this data to populate and publish our National Pet Food Bank map so it will be a valuable tool to connect those in need of pet food with supports in their area.

Since our last update, we’ve also had the pleasure of coordinating a large donation of pet food as part of a wildfire relief effort. This generous donation was made to the National Pet Food Bank by Habitat for Humanity, and we organized the distribution of pet food to organizations across both eastern and western Canada. Thanks to this donation, more than 3000 bags of pet food were distributed to wildfire-affected areas.

 As we move into the fall, we are busy preparing for the fourth cycle of the National Pet Food Bank grants. This grant cycle will focus on northern, rural, and Indigenous-led programs in order to address the intensified barriers in accessing pet resources that those communities face. We look forward to sharing updates on the granting process through our social media.

Thank you so much for all your support of this important work to keep people and their animals together. We’d like to leave you with this heartwarming message from a service user, shared with us by a previous National Pet Food Bank grant recipient:

 "These services are vital because it's not just providing things that people need. It's about growing stronger communities by building people up and learning how to care about people and all life in healthier ways".

Your donation makes a difference for people and pets across Canada, thank you!

Links:

• National Pet Food Bank Program