Petco's National Food Drive: Now until November 13th

Food drives are not unusual this time of year. The holidays make us remember those around us who are struggling, and many jump at the chance to help others in need by donating food, clothing, and other goods. However, so often we overlook the "other" family members - the pets. When the economy began to tank a few years ago many shelters saw a huge increase in the number of pets being surrendered. People just could not afford to feed their pets and their families. Even though the economy has since started its very slow climb upwards many people are still struggling to provide for their families, and that includes the family pet. Here is a great article from USA Today discussing the increased need for pet food banks and donations: Pet Talk: Need for pet food banks is up in down economy.

The thought of having to give up your pet because you can no longer afford to feed it is devastating, and the Petco Foundation agrees. From October 30th until November 13th Petco is hosting its National Food Drive in many of its locations. You can stop in and donate food in their big collection bins, or go here to add a donation to your shopping cart online.

Petco has teamed up with numerous animal welfare and food bank organizations to help provide food to needy pets in hopes of keeping them at home with their owners and out of the shelters. You can go here to see a listing of participating stores and the local organizations they have partnered with. In support of this endeavor Hill's Science Diet has graciously offered to match every bag of Science Diet purchased at a Petco store and donated to the food drive, up to 100,000 lbs.!

I know there are many still struggling in the economy, and that some of you may be thinking that you cannot afford to donate very much. I will be posting a later article with some tips and links to help you stretch those donation dollars.