(US) Can’t Afford to Feed Your Furry Friend? Pet Food Stamps are Here to Help

[Amy SF]

Can’t Afford to Feed Your Furry Friend? Pet Food Stamps are Here to Help

• by Julie M. Rodriguez
• September 5, 2013
• 1:00 pm

If you’ve never been on food stamps (or SNAP, as it’s now called), you might be surprised at just how many restrictions there are on their use. You can buy fresh and packaged foods, but not pre-cooked foods from the deli. You can buy seeds and plants for your home garden. You can’t buy alcohol, tobacco, personal care products, or even vitamins. And you definitely can’t buy food for your pet.

That’s a problem for families who adopt a pet, only to be hit with unexpected financial difficulties later down the road. Pets are easily a 10-20 year commitment, and a lot can happen over the course of a decade, including the loss of a job or the death of a spouse.

We don’t expect parents with a low income to choose between feeding their children and handing them over the to the state. So why should families who have bonded with a pet have to make the choice between feeding their pet and giving it away — especially when there are so many homeless pets in the world already?

That’s where the new nonprofit Pet Food Stamps comes in. This New York-based organization is not affiliated with the government, and runs completely on donations, providing free pet food to families who can prove they’re already receiving state benefits. Their goal is as ambitious as it is simple: to help families who might otherwise have to surrender their cat or dog to a shelter, and prevent pets who can’t be re-homed from being euthanized.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/cant-af...od-stamps-are-here-to-help.html#ixzz2e3jZNoTn

I think this is a good idea.

 

[Kitties]

Call me cold if you want, but I'd donate to feed animals but not people.

We have had some drives in this area to collect pet food for low income seniors. For people who are committed to their pets for their entire life, I'd donate.

 

[Wolfie]

Call me cold if you want, but I'd donate to feed animals but not people.

We have had some drives in this area to collect pet food for low income seniors. For people who are committed to their pets for their entire life, I'd donate.

Same here. Though I will donate to people who are left out of the government-run programs.

 

[shyvas]

Call me cold if you want, but I'd donate to feed animals but not people.

We have had some drives in this area to collect pet food for low income seniors. For people who are committed to their pets for their entire life, I'd donate.

same here !

 

[peacefulveglady]

This reminds of one of our food pantries they give us cat food and other things in that nature.