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Humane PA Coordinates Donation of Over 400,000 lbs. of Pet Food

by Humane Pennsylvania

Apr 07, 2021

As Humane Pennsylvania approaches one year of emergency COVID-19 response, the animal welfare organization has coordinated and distributed over 400,000 lbs. of pet food and supplies. When the Healthy Pets Initiative (HPI) was created in 2016, part of its intent was to respond to major disasters — this has proved successful over the last year.

As part of the Healthy Pets Initiative, Spike’s Pet Pantry, which was originally founded as Ani-Meals in 2006, oversaw and donated over 400,000 lbs. of pet food in the past 12 months to those facing economic hardship. Over 87,000 lbs. of that pet food was distributed directly to individual clients through Reading and Lancaster Spike’s Pet Pantry program and over 312,000 lbs. was donated to other organizations throughout multiple counties.

When we first created Ani-Meals in 2006, it was an innovative approach to getting pet food to those in need of human food too. It allowed people in the community to receive direct food assistance for their pets,” said Karel Minor, CEO of Humane Pennsylvania. “And now to see how far and wide this once controversial program has developed, and what we were able to accomplish in this last year alone is unheard of.” 

In support of Humane Pennsylvania’s mission to build the best community anywhere to be an animal or animal caretaker, Healthy Pets Initiative has also been able to provide life-saving veterinary services to pets in need. Despite the hurdles created by the pandemic, nearly 10,000 pets in the greater Reading area were directly served by HPI programs and services. This included mobile vaccine and microchip clinics, affordable access to spaying and neutering, community event presence, partnerships, and Spike’s Pet Pantry.

Humane Pennsylvania’s Healthy Pets Initiative program started in 2016 and has quickly grown into a statewide resource and life-saving initiative for animals and their caretakers. Because of its innovative success, on March 19, 2020 Humane Pennsylvania was designated by the Pennsylvania State Animal Response Team to serve as the primary emergency agency focused on coordinating larger scale food and supply handling and distribution throughout Eastern PA.

Visit humanepa.org/healthypets/ to learn more about how Humane Pennsylvania’s Healthy Pets Initiative program can help you and your pet. If you’d like to support the efforts of the Healthy Pets Initiative, please contact Director of Development Lauren Henderson at [email protected] or (610) 750-6100 ext. 211.

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