Volunteer at Tackle Pet Hunger Collection Day
Fall is upon us, and while many people may be thinking about apple cider, pumpkins and Halloween, Ohio Animal Foundation (OAF) is thinking about how it can help pets in the Buckeye state keep their bellies full. For the past ten years, October at OAF has meant it’s time to Tackle Pet Hunger.
According to OAF Executive Director Jill Herbst, Tackle Pet Hunger (TPH) serves to help those who need temporary food assistance for their pets.
What is TPH?
TPH came out of a desire to stock the pantries of organizations who help pet owners. Over the years, the food drive period grew from two weeks to the entire month of October, so there’s plenty of time to receive donations to help meet the needs of our local food pantries.
This year, Jill said OAF hopes to collect 4,000 pounds of food.
“We partner with businesses around central Ohio that serve as food collection sites. We also have online ordering through Amazon and accept monetary donations through our website,” Jill said.
Where does TPH Food Go?
Once the food drive is over, OAF works with distribution partners to get the food into the community and the mouths of pets that need it. “We give the food to those organizations and they distribute it through their existing pet food assistance programs,” she said. 2024 distribution partners include PetPromise Pet Food Pantry, Sedona Grace Foundation, and Faithful Forgotten Best Friends.
“The PetPromise Pet Food Pantry is designed to assist people who are temporarily struggling to provide food for their pet,” explained Cynthia Butler Carson, one of the original founders of PetPromise, a pet rescue organization, and the founder of Pet Promise food pantry, which was born after the pet rescue was getting an abundance of pet food donations and Cynthia wanted a way to do more to help animals.
The program grew over the years and PetPromise found itself sharing thousands of pounds of pet food with people caring for animals in need each year.
“Today we are proud to say that since 2008, we have distributed 98,643 pounds of cat and dog food,” she said.
Faithful Forgotten Best Friends (FFBF) is another partner that will benefit greatly from OAF and TPH.
“FFBF distributes food to our clients (including unhoused/homeless, low income, senior citizens, or veterans) on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month,” explained Gloria Pados-Irwin, Executive Director of FFBF. “If someone comes to us for food and they aren’t a client, we give them food that day and encourage them to sign up to become an FFBF client. Having people sign up to become a client helps us plan ahead for the amount of food we’re going to need each month. We currently serve approximately 400 families (over 1,050 pets).”
FFBF serves eight Columbus zip codes: 43201, 43204, 43205, 43206, 43207, 43215, 43222, and 43223. One can become a client by visiting the clinic on Tuesdays and showing proof of government assistance or homelessness. Once a client, they can receive help for a range of pet-related services, from food assistance to basic vet care.
Gloria talked about how the importance of what this group does not only helps with food, but also helps their clients keep their pets rather than have to re-home them. These pets are what keep up the spirits of those in need.
“Yes, we help people with food, but we also try to help them however we can,” she said.
Finally, the Sedona Grace Foundation has been involved with OAF and the Tackle Pet Hunger program for the past seven years, according to Jill Cottone, a founder of Sedona Grace Foundation. They provide dog and cat food to area food pantries so people experiencing hard times don’t have to give up their pets because they can’t afford to feed them. This foundation services a variety of Columbus area organizations, ministries and food pantries.
She said the donations will carry them through to the new year, which makes all the difference as people are usually giving to other causes around the holidays.
How You Can Help
TPH is made possible with generous support from Ohio Animal Foundation partners Haus Studio Design, Pet Supplies Plus, and Fifth and Kenny Animal Hospital.
You can drop off a Tackle Pet Hunger pet food donation during the month of October at one of 12 collection sites throughout the greater Columbus, Ohio area, including six Pet Supplies Plus locations. Visit the Tackle Pet Hunger webpage for information about this year’s collection sites.