MISSOULA - The holidays present many opportunities to give and donate, but AniMeals wants to make sure we don’t forget about our four-legged friends.
AniMeals, a cat shelter and animal food bank in Missoula, is running a pet food drive to encourage animal food donations.
The donations will go to members of the community who need help feeding their pets, as well as other animal shelters in the area.
"Pet food can be expensive, and it can be a very big cost for some shelters," says Animeals marketing specialist, Rachel Taft
The food bank at AniMeals currently feeds about 104 cats and 80 dogs monthly, according to Taft. She says with such high demand, they are struggling to keep their shelves stocked.
“Our demand isn’t meeting our supply basically," Taft says. "We have a very high demand, a lot of people in our community are struggling right now with feeding their animals, and our supply is unable to keep up with our current demand.”
Taft says whether because of rising costs, or through word of mouth, more people are coming to AniMeals for pet food than in previous years.
She says it is important to keep their bank stocked all year round, but finds people especially need help in the winter and around holidays.
“People love their animals, and sometimes they’ll feed their animals before they even feed themselves," Taft says. "So to have this resource for people who are struggling is important all year round, but I think it’s definitely tougher in the winter months and getting towards the holidays when people are spending more money out and things like that.”
AniMeals is mainly looking for dog and cat food and will accept already opened bags of food. You can drop off food Monday through Sunday from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. You can also buy items off the wish list on their Facebook page and have it delivered right to the shelter.
The pet food drive ends on Dec. 15, 2022, but they will always take donations. For more information, visit their Facebook page.
