East Bay SPCA offers free pet food to families in need amid the coronavirus pandemic

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- ABC7 is committed to Building a Better Bay Area and during the coronavirus pandemic we have seen a number of people turn to food banks to put food on the table but they are not the only ones affected by the pandemic, so are their pets.

The East Bay SPCA is hosting a free pet food drive for residents who have been financially impacted amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"We wanted to make sure that we are there for our community, to support pet owners and to make sure they can provide the best level of care for their pets," said Karalyn Aronow, vice president of operations of the East Bay SPCA.

The nonprofit organization has hosted the pet pantry for over a decade but the decided to switch gears when COVID-19 hit. For the past six weeks, they have provided close 10 tons of high quality pet food to over 600 families.

"Our main goal is to keep pets with their people," said Aronow. "By providing pet food we are able to prevent people from making the difficult choice of surrendering their pet to a shelter because they don't have the means to take care for it during this difficult time."

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Every Friday, the pet food pantry has operated as a contactless drive-thru to ensure the safety of the employees and pet owners.

"I do appreciate this being open to us, to help supplement food for our dogs," said an East Bay pet owner.

In spite of the pandemic, the nonprofit has been able to keep up with the high demand of pet food thanks to generous donations from the community and corporations like Hill's Pet Nutrition and Pet Food Express.

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"This is probably my fourth or fifth visit here," said Paul Mehling, pet owner. "This is important and we have a lot of cats so this is a godsend."

The organization plans to provide free pet food during the shelter in place order to ensure that pets are not left hungry and are able to stay with their families.

The East Bay SPCA's is providing free cat and dog food every Friday from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. during the shelter-in-place order at 410 Hegenberger Road in Oakland.

To donate to the East Bay SPCA visit their website. To fulfill their Amazon wish list of needed pet supplies click here.

Take a look at all of ABC7's Building a Better Bay Area stories and videos here.

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