Utah charities team up to distribute pet food to families in need

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Food Bank, Feed America and PetSmart Charities distributed pet food to 430 families in need on Tuesday.

The event was part of a national campaign launched last year by PetSmart Charities in recognition of Pet Hunger Awareness Day. Approximately 20 million pets in the U.S. experience poverty with their families, according to the Humane Society. Additionally, a PetSmart study found that approximately 30 million pets face hunger every year.

The campaign and its efforts are intended to help alleviate some of the burden carried by families attempting to bridge the gap in resources, including sharing their own limited food supplies with their pets or forging other necessities to help fill their pets' bowls.

“If people are experiencing hunger, often their pets are, too,” said Aimee Gilbreath, president of PetSmart Charities in a statement. “We're thankful that Utah Food Bank is sharing in the effort to draw attention to this important issue and participated in this Pet Hunger Awareness Day event. The people we meet during these distribution events tell us that it means so much to them to be able to meet the needs of their entire family.”

The drive-thru distribution event was held at at the Maverik Center's overflow parking lot in West Valley City with support from community volunteers and the Utah Food Bank. Bags of cat or dog food were handed to attendees, many of whom brought their pets. Two semitruckloads of pet food were donated by PetSmart Charities to the event for distribution.

“When someone is facing hunger and having to make tough choices between feeding their families or say paying their rent or feeding a pet or skipping a meal, so their pet or their child could have a meal. We don't want to have to put people in that situation,” said Heidi Cannella, Utah Food Bank communications director.

A recent poll by the Humane Society found that 43% of all pet owners have been unable to pay for their pets' needs at some point due to financial reasons. The poll found that 89% of those surveyed agreed that all pet owners deserve to keep their pets as long as they care for them and love them and 81% thought that no one should have to give up their pet if they fall on financial hard times.

“A lot of times people who come to us in need of food assistance, it's a temporary situation. A lot of people are living paycheck to paycheck and all it takes is, for example, one medical emergency or one large car repair bill or a factory shutting down or a family member getting laid off and then they're having to make tough choices until they can get back on their feet,” said Cannella. “And we want to be here so that they can get back on their feet and not have to worry about how to feed their families.”