CCHS And Salvation Army Team Up For Expanded Pet Food Pantry
Tuesday, September 3, 2019
CCHS & Salvation Army Team Up For Expanded Pet Food Pantry
**Listen to an interview with Dennis Webster on the bottom of the page featuring Kellie Roberts, Sue Bobek and Liz Lopez.
JAMESTOWN, N.Y. (June 27, 2019) – The Chautauqua County Humane Society (CCHS) and the Salvation Army are uniting to offer an expanded pet food pantry to area residents. CCHS Executive Director Kellie Roberts said “We have had the Pet Food Pantry at CCHS for quite some time but we knew that many people were not aware of the program. Additionally, there are people in need who are not able to take advantage of the food being available only at the Adoption Center on Strunk Road due to a lack of transportation to get to us. By partnering with the Salvation Army’s Food Bank, we’re making it so that people are able to get their food as well as their pet’s food at one location within the city.”
Salvation Army Emergency Basic Needs Supervisor Elizabeth Lopez said “Response to the pantry has been phenomenal. We are a central location that serves a population of those who need assistance with basic needs such as emergency food. The Salvation Army and The Chautauqua County Humane Society working together on the pet pantry makes perfect sense.” Lopez described how to access the pantry “Clients can request pet pantry up to once every 30 days when they come in for their full pantry service. We have a few different food programs that happen here at The Salvation Army. Full pantry is an emergency three day supply of food that is eligible to those in need once every 30 days. Clients will be instructed at their first visit how to certify on their second visit. This package is provided from Feed More WNY. Bread and produce is available more often. These products are donated from local businesses such as Wegmans, Tops, Aldi, and Farm Fresh. Pet donations can be dropped off at The Salvation Army. We are open Monday-Friday 10-12 and 1-3:30.” The most requested items at the Pet Food Pantry include cat food, dog food, and cat litter.
Roberts spoke of the collaborative effort “Liz and the staff there have been fantastic. They are enthusiastic and welcoming and we are so pleased to be working with them.” Roberts also spoke of the possibility of expanding the program in the future, “Yes, we want to expand to other area food pantries as we are able to do so. We are focused at this time on bringing in enough cat, dog, kitten, and puppy food donations to meet the need through the two current locations. We want to consistently have pet food available at the Salvation Army so that people don’t have to decide between getting food for themselves or getting food for their pets. Once that is achieved we can look to expand.”
If you would like to help the local pet food pantries, donations can be dropped off at the Chautauqua County Humane Society at 2825 Strunk Road, or the Salvation Army at 83 South Main Street in Jamestown. Donations can also be made online.