Bone Appetit! PetSmart Charities Stepping Up to Feed Pets

When discussing the impacts of food insecurity, people often focus on seniors living on fixed incomes, children going to school with empty stomachs and families stretching every dollar to get by. But hunger doesn’t just affect humans. Sometimes, the impacts extend to those in our families with paws and whiskers: our pets.

For many households, our pets aren’t just furry companions. They are family. This bond is especially valuable for older adults living alone because having a pet provides emotional support by reducing symptoms of loneliness, depression and anxiety. Having a pet later in life also provides significant health benefits, such as lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels. However, when a crisis strikes, such as an unexpected job loss or a medical emergency, everyone, including the family pet, feels financial and emotional strain. And as the cost of living and pet care continues to rise, it becomes more challenging for families to feed themselves, let alone their pets.

When humans become food insecure, so do their pets. Across the country, over 30 million pets face food insecurity every year. Most pet owners will go to great lengths to care for their furry friends. In fact, research conducted by PetSmart Charities finds that 83% of pet parents facing food insecurity will forego their own meals to guarantee their pet has something to eat. In some heartbreaking circumstances, some people may feel the need to surrender their pets to animal shelters so they can live better lives.

Nobody should have to make the difficult choice of either feeding themselves or their pet.

Through a powerful paw-tnership, Feeding America and PetSmart Charities are taking strides to feed each family member and ensure they stay together. On the last Tuesday of September, the two organizations host Pet Hunger Awareness Day, a powerful one-day campaign supporting Hunger Awareness Month, ensuring that all family members, even the four-legged ones, have enough to eat. Through this campaign and paw-tnership, PetSmart Charities has helped deliver over 400 million meals nationwide to more than 113 food banks.

But their generosity extends beyond one day. Over the past year, United Food Bank has received generous donations from PetSmart Charities containing over 59,000 pounds of pet food. Through these donations, United Food Bank has distributed the food to various partner agencies across the state, from AZCEND in Chandler, White Mountain Community Food Bank in Lakeside and across the San Carlos Apache Reservation.

This donation is more than just bags of kibble. For Shayna Beasley, Chief Philanthropy and Communications Officer at United Food Bank, it also provides neighbors with peace of mind and a sense of stability.

“Every day, we see how deeply people love their pets. When a neighbor doesn’t have to choose between feeding themselves or feeding their pet, it means stability, comfort, and preserving a bond that provides so much emotional strength,” explains Beasley.

Loving and being loved by a pet is a great honor. When times get ruff, having a pet can be a lifeline, especially for emotional support. This is why discussing the impacts of food insecurity among families with pets is essential; it helps lead a broader conversation on the effects of food insecurity. Thanks to a generous paw-tnership with PetSmart Charities and Feeding America, food banks like United Food Bank can feed thousands of pets and, most importantly, keep families together.