“I am on a mission to feed hungry pets,” said Block, who approximates she has actually gathered 42,000 pounds of animal food from people, regional merchants, and animal food producers and rearranged it to food kitchens, animal shelters, and southern rescue transportations. “Yet the numbers continue to grow on a steady basis.”
While Block explains her independent volunteer efforts as “the best job I’ve ever had,” other pet food banks in Massachusetts are group efforts. For example, the South Shore Pet Food Pantry was initially established as the Weymouth Pet Food Pantry in 2016 by a little group of ladies who offered in numerous locations of animal rescue.
Kristen Clancy, cofounder and president, said the objective of reallocating excess animal food from animal shelters to regional food kitchens is planned to avoid customers from offering groceries indicated for their usage to their animals.
“It’s amazing to hear people tell stories of trauma, financial crisis, divorce, or the death of a family member and how their pet was the only thing that got them through it,” Clancy said. “For most people, giving up their furry family member just isn’t an option.”
The South Shore Pet Food Pantry likewise supplies low-cost veterinary recommendations and instructional resources through the Weymouth Food Pantry, Interfaith Social Services in Quincy, Hands and Hearts for the Homeless in Plymouth, Veterans Voice/WATD Studios in Marshfield, the Pembroke Firehouse Pantry, the Southwest Community Food Center in Quincy, and the Fourth Presbyterian Church Food Pantry in South Boston.
According to Clancy, the not-for-profit serves in between 600 and 700 households monthly — a 60 percent boost considering that the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — through the combined kindness of animal shelters, online contributions, and 7 drop-off websites in Weymouth, Hingham, and Norwell.
“You have to be passionate about helping animals and people to keep something like this going. It’s a big part of my life — and my family’s life,” said Clancy, a mom of 4 who — like Block — has actually changed the garage at her Weymouth home into a family pet food storage location. “We could probably use a pet food bank in every community.”
Like its equivalent programs of MSPCA-Angell, Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem uses complimentary animal food and products, pop-up vaccination centers, transport to veterinary consultations, and other services to keep households and their animals together. Additional MSPCA-Angell neighborhood outreach programs help underserved households in Lowell, Lawrence, Methuen, Dorchester, and on Cape Cod.
“We launched [the community outreach program] when COVID hit in 2020,” said Jamie Garabedian, assistant director of operations at Northeast Animal Shelter, “but it made us realize the need has always been great.”
The Pet Pantry at the Animal Protection Center of Southeastern Massachusetts (APCSM) in Brockton traces its origin to 2009, when Easton student Jessica Stone implemented a pet-feeding program alongside the food pantry operating out of now-shuttered Coyle and Cassidy High School in Taunton.
Donations of pet food, treats, cat litter, puppy pads, and other supplies are accepted at drop-off locations in Canton, Taunton, Whitman, and Brockton, including the new food storage trailer at the APCSM. Items are distributed monthly at the animal shelter and delivered to the Easton Food Pantry, St. Vincent de Paul at Christ the King Parish in Brockton, First Congregational Church of Sharon, the Brockton Council on Aging, and other nonprofits.
Attleboro resident Corinne Lawson, who took over as director of the Pet Pantry after its merger in January 2018 with APCSM (where she is project and development coordinator), said she has been brought to tears by heartfelt messages from grateful clients.
One such individual wrote in October 2020, “My pup and I are beyond grateful for how you all have helped us through such tough months. I would love nothing more than to be invited to come help volunteer with something someday if possible. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”
“Little expenses add up, particularly if someone gets laid off or is just having a rough go of it,” Lawson said. “People love, love, love their animals so much, and a little help can make a world of difference.”
Shirley Moore, who established Sudbury-based Save A Dog in 1999 with her spouse, David Bernier, said she sees firsthand the actual life-and-death distinction made by animal food banks. She is grateful to Block for assisting to make her Meals on Wheels program for animals possible, along with all those who commit their lives to animal well-being.
“It’s God’s work for God’s creatures,” Moore said, “but how can you not do it? You can never out-give a dog, that’s for sure.”
Cindy Cantrell can be reached at [email protected].