Unity House will welcome PetFlow to The Front Door where the pet food delivery company will make a donation of pet food to the Unity House food pantry. The donation comes via our community partner, the Hudson Mohawk Humane Society.
Pets face food insecurity too. Along with diapers, pet food is one of the most oft-requested items in food pantries. In this way, our local relationship with the amazing Hudson Mohawk Humane Society is invaluable because they help us source pet food to stock our food pantry shelves. The pantry also benefits from pet food drives from individuals, but it’s often not enough to keep our shelves stocked.
Some might say that if you can’t afford to feed a pet, you shouldn’t have one. That advice does not take into account that many people might have been in better circumstances at the time they adopted a pet. And giving up a beloved family pet that is stably housed only places a greater burden on local rescure organizations. From the perspective of the humane society, it’s easier to help a family feed a pet (or care for a pet’s medical needs) than it is to try to re-home a pet. That’s why the humane society goes to great lengths to help pantries secure pet food and get the word out about their spay and neurter clinics.
The work of the humane society is important to Unity House in other ways too. Their Project Safe Haven is a lifesaver for victims of domestic violence. Many victims state that the threat of harm to a beloved family pet is a barrier to leaving an abusive situation. The Safe Haven program fosters pets of victims while they seek safety. The humane society even works to ensure there is visitation! It’s partnerships like this between shelters for victims of domestic violence and animal welfare organizations that highlight the importance of community collaboration when addressing the issue of domestic violence in a community.
The food being donated by PetFlow to the food pantry is from pet food manufacturers. For every bowl of pet food the company ships, they donate one to animal welfare groups. The company’s business model is selling pet food online in scheduled shipments. So go ahead, order your pet food online- you can even arrange to have some shipped to your favorite pantry- and let the good deeds flow!