A coalition of brands and charities from the pet care trade has now provided more than one million meals to dogs and cats in England, Scotland and Wales.
The Pet Food Partnership, comprising Battersea, Cats Protection, Dogs Trust, RSPCA and food waste charity FareShare, supported by insurer Petplan, recently passed the milestone, calculated from the approximately 154 tonnes of wet and dry pet food donated by pet food manufacturers since the partnership was established late last year.
The scheme set out to help owners struggling to feed their pets during the cost of living crisis, with the animal charities working together to secure pet food donations from suppliers including Mars Petcare, Lily’s Kitchen, Pets at Home and Purina, plus additional support from trade industry body UK Pet Food to help co-ordinate and bring in further donations. The food is then distributed to the people and their pets who need it via FareShare’s network of over 8,500 community groups and charities across the UK, supported by a donation towards transportation costs from Petplan.
A spokesperson for the Pet Food Partnership said: “We know how important pets are to the people that love them, and that many owners would rather go hungry themselves than let their pet go without a meal. We believe no one should ever have to make that choice. That’s why we started this programme – to offer struggling owners a helping hand and fill pet food bowls across the UK.
“While reaching the million meals milestone is a great example of how effective working together can be, it is also a sad indicator of how many owners continue to struggle as a result of rising costs. From the dog owners up in Aberdeen, to the people with cats down in Plymouth, we’re here to help keep pets well-fed this winter.”
