Meals On Wheels Now feeding pets

Meals On Wheels is a charity, known for providing food to over a million clients. It was about five years ago when volunteers began noticing Meals On Wheels clients sharing their food with their pets. Since then they have begun offering pet food in addition to the meals they have been providing for seniors.

Realizing that the problem is widespread, Meals On Wheels joined forces with Banfield, The Pet Hospital, to help get pet food to seniors in need. Together they are running a two-month drive for pet food, which they are calling "A Season of Suppers", hoping that they can raise 1 million pounds of kibble between 575 Banfield hospitals where donations can be dropped off.

"Oh my, yes, this helps me. This fog has lifted the life out of me, I'll tell you, and I'm thrilled to be able to feed him the right food," Darlene Gustafson, an 84-year-old resident of Anoka County in Minnesota, exclaimed.

In Oregon, the anti-hunger agency and Banfield are accepting donations for "We All Love Our Pets", a Meals On Wheels program that is attempting to raise $100,000. This will be connected to other existing programs, which include those found in Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale, and Sacremento; as well as starting new programs throughout the nation.

Janine Brown, program manager of nutrition services, said, "It's truly awesome they're doing this. Not only do seniors not have to share their food, which isn't healthy for pets, but they can keep the limited amount of income for their medicine and electric bills."