Nonprofits merge pet food banks to aid animal owners
Humane Ohio, PET Bull Project create expanded program.
Two local nonprofits are pooling resources to offer a better pet food bank for animal owners in need.
Humane Ohio, a lowcost spay/neuter clinic, and Toledo’s PET Bull Project, a canine-welfare organization, have merged their pet food banks into a single, expanded program. The two organizations have been operating just a mile and a half apart on Tremainsville Road in West Toledo since the latter moved to its location about a year ago.
“It got to be kind of silly that we were doing the exact same thing a mile and a half apart,” said Kaylie Spotts, development and marketing coordinator for the clinic.
The merged pet food bank is now at the PET Bull Project’s center at 2249 Tremainsville Road.
“Collaborations are really important,” said Cindy Reinsel, executive director of the canine-welfare organization. “Working together, we’ll be able to serve more people.”
Spotts said Humane Ohio had been serving about 600 households each year, while Reinsel said her organization’s smaller pet food bank served 100 to 150 clients.
“The demand is certainly there,” Spotts said. “It’s a valuable resource to help people keep their pets in their homes. We’ve heard from multiple people that they will feed their animal before they will feed themselves. And we don’t want people to go hungry to feed their pets.”
While the merged pet food bank technically doesn’t open until Thursday, a few clients have already trickled in.
Humane Ohio is overseeing the network of pet-food collection bins and volunteer pick-ups, while the PET Bull Project is handling operations at the pet food bank itself with the assistance of young adults from Green Options for Autism of Lucas County, or GOAL.
Trisha Lohr, operations manager for GOAL, is a volunteer and foster for the PET Bull Project and had been running the group’s food bank for about two and a half years. She said working the pet food bank helps develop both job and social skills. Participants are organizing, stocking shelves, greeting clients, and handling clerical work among other tasks.
With the PET Bull Project taking over daily operations, the pet food bank can offer expanded hours. The new hours are from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. every Wednesday, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, and from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on the first, second, and third Fridays of the month.
Reinsel said food bank clients can also be easily connected to additional services, like her organization’s low-cost dog training and grooming programs.
“It’s going to be a very, very beneficial program for the community,” she said.
The merged pet food bank is on the ground floor. Humane Ohio’s former program had been on the second floor of the clinic, making the process more difficult for clients with mobility issues.
Spotts also noted that the spay/neuter clinic continues to grow and has been searching for a new building for several years. Moving the pet food bank down the street frees up more space for cramped clinic operations.
More information on the required qualifications and an application for the pet food bank will be available online at toledospetbullproject.com, or by calling 567-315-8051 or emailing toledospetbullproject@ gmail.com.