El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Receives Shipments of Pet Food Donations from PetSmart Charities®
To Help Pets and Pet Owners across the Borderland
Pet Food Available at various distributions sites to families needing food assistance
EL PASO, TEXAS – July 5, 2021 – El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank received several shipments of dry dog and cat food as a donation from PetSmart Charities, the leading funder in animal welfare, to help families with pets facing financial hardship and food insecurity. These pet food donations will allow the food bank to distribute pet food at the following locations in July.
Pet food will be distributed on the following dates:
Wednesday, July 7 St. Luke’s Catholic Church 930 E. Redd Rd. starting at 8:30 am
Thursday, July 8 EPFH 9541 Plaza Circle starting at 8:00 am
Tuesday, July 20 Kelly Center for Hunger Relief 915 Florence St. starting at 9:00 am
Feeding America projects that 42 million people (1 in 8) may experience food insecurity in 2021. Across the Borderland the numbers are 1 in 7. Although this is a slight improvement from the 2020 many Americans are still struggling with basic needs, including putting food on the table or in their pets’ bowl. While reports of food insecurity have made national headlines, pet food insecurity still looms beneath the surface, despite the fact that60% of households are pet owners. Pets provide a sense of comfort and well-being for families, especially during challenging times. Having access to pet food helps ensure that people don’t have to choose between feeding themselves or feeding their pets. It also ensures that pets are able to remain happy and healthy with their families, during the times that they need them most.
“Across the Borderland pet owners are very grateful to know that the food bank and other mobile pantry sites are distributing pet food along with food for their families. Having pet food for their pets is an added bonus to our clients who come to get food assistance. It helps keep people and pets together and so many are benefitting from this program, especially during these hard times, that for so many have gotten difficult to manage.” said Kathy Cox, Chief Development Officer at El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank.
Earlier this year, PetSmart Charities made a $10 million to Feeding America to support pets and their families through 2021. This donation will enable Feeding America partners like El Pasoans Fighting Hunger to offer pet food to families affected by job loss and financial hardship, in addition to traditional pantry staples.
“Food insecurity is at an all-time high for families due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and historically we’ve seen many stories about pet parents in need who sacrifice to feed their pets before they feed themselves,” said Aimee Gilbreath, President at PetSmart Charities. “We are proud to make this commitment to provide much-needed pet food to families across the U.S., ultimately helping keep pets and people together during this challenging time.”
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About El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank:
El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank (EPFH) is El Paso’s only food bank and a member of Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger relief network. With a current 22.3% of the population living below the poverty, EPFH commits to making sure no one goes hungry. In 2019, EPFH worked diligently with more than 130+ partner agencies and 235 mobile pantries to distribute more than 32.5 million pounds of food in 3 county areas: El Paso, Hudspeth and Culberson. The mission statement of EPFH is “to combat the hunger crisis in our region by strategically procuring and distributing nutritious food through community partners . . . because no one should go hungry.” Visit us at www.elpasoansfightinghunger.org to learn more.
El Pasoans Fighting Hunger is a 501 (c) (3) organization.
About PetSmart Charities®
PetSmart Charities, Inc. is committed to finding lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together. Through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart® stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, PetSmart Charities helps to find forever homes and families for more than 600,000 shelter pets each year. Each year, millions of generous PetSmart shoppers help pets in need by donating to PetSmart Charities using the PIN pads at checkout registers inside PetSmart stores. In turn, PetSmart Charities efficiently uses more than 90 cents of every dollar donated to fulfill its role as the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, granting more than $450 million since its inception in 1994. Independent from PetSmart Inc., PetSmart Charities is a 501(c)(3) organization that has received the Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator, a third-party organization that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of nonprofits, for the past 17 years in a row – placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization. To learn more visit www.petsmartcharities.org.
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