From 2022 to 2023, PAWSitive Pantry, a Waitsfield nonprofit, saw a tripling in the need for pet food and donations. Vermont’s July and December floods exacerbated the need for pet care, according to the nonprofit’s president Stacy LeBaron.
LeBaron said that the 2023 end-of-the-year exact stats were not yet put together, but said that in Vermont alone the organization easily facilitated the purchase of over $100,000 worth of dog food for all the food banks in the state.
“We are now covering most of Vermont through all the food banks in the state through our partnership with the Vermont Food Bank. The food bank purchases an additional $75,000 worth of pet food for Vermont families. They are huge supporters of our work,” LeBaron said.
With the tripling of the need for pet food, especially for cats, LeBaron said that PAWSitive Pantry cut back on its purchases of wet food in favor of dry food to make the funds go further.
She said that the July and December flooding, July in particular, unhoused a lot of people and a lot of pets. The Red Cross provided shelter for people and pets and PAWSitive Pantry provided funding and food for animals being sheltered.
Vermont’s housing shortage coupled with people whose homes were damaged or destroyed in the July flooding meant an even greater need for shelter and food for family pets. LeBaron said that while families may have been able to find a place to rent, their pets were not always welcome (especially large dogs) and were being fostered or cared for in other places increasing the need for pet food assistance.
“A big part of our mission is to facilitate keeping pets and their families together,” she said.
LeBaron stays in close contact with the Mad River Valley Community Pantry, checking in regularly to make sure pet food is available for local families. She said that volunteers at the local pantry and in other parts of Vermont report that pet food is usually the first thing to go off the shelves.
“The Vermont Food Bank helps stock our pantry and others and we’re there to backstop it beyond the food bank,” she explained.
At the local pantry and at others, pet food is distributed in Ziplock plastic bags and there is always a need, she added.
PAWSitive Pantry is the charity of the month at Shaw’s in Waitsfield. For every reusable bag purchased at the store, PAWSitive Pantry will receive $1. Here is the PAWSitive Pantry website: https://pawsitivepantry.org/
