Helping Animals, Helping People – Mayhew Team up With Local Food Banks to Supply Dog and Cat Food for Pets in Need

With almost 205,000 people in London alone regularly relying on a food bank to have enough to eat, we know that many pet owners are also facing an impossible choice between providing for themselves or buying food for their beloved animals.

Thankfully, organisations like the Trussell Trust are working around the clock to help end food poverty, and we are proud to be making a contribution to their tireless and crucial efforts.

• Our Animal Welfare Officers have so far visited the Trussell Trust Verity Hall Food Bank and the St Laurence Larder and Open Kitchen in Brent, donating wet and dry cat and dog food and treats for the thousands of residents who rely on these organisations for emergency packages.
• We are also supplying each organisation with advice and leaflets about our services, so that pet owners in need have somewhere to turn if they need further help or support with their animals.
• Since 2019, there has been an 18% increase in the number of people needing to use a food bank to feed themselves, their families, their children and their pets – and with the pandemic ongoing and all it’s challenges set to continue, we know that even more owners and animals will find themselves in a crisis situation in the weeks and months to come.

At Mayhew, we work hard to improve the lives of dogs, cats and people in our local communities. We know the pandemic has hit everyone hard, and we know first hand how quickly and unexpectedly people can find themselves in a crisis situation.

Our donations to the Verity Hall Food Bank and the St Laurence Larder and Open Kitchen will hopefully ensure that loving owners are able to stay with and care for their animal companions, rather than face the difficult decision of having to give them up for adoption if they find themselves unable to cope.

All of our community outreach work is focused on keeping people and pets together, and during lockdown we know that it’s especially important for both pets and owners to take comfort from each other.

Our food bank donations include wet and dry cat and dog food, treats, bones and useful items like poo bags that struggling owners may not otherwise have been able to afford. We are currently making approximately one drop a week at each food bank, in line with demand, and expect this to continue over the coming weeks and months.

AJ Ford, Deputy Head of Animal Welfare at Mayhew, said “We are delighted to team up with our local food banks to reach more pet owners in need. It’s a real privilege being able to support owners in keeping their animals happy and healthy during these difficult times.”

Brent Foodbank (@BrentFoodBank) recently tweeted their thanks and posted a call out for donations of other non-food household items – please see their post here for more details if you think you too might be able to help.

Stephen Chamberlain, our contact at the St Laurence Larder and Open Kitchen also had a surprise for our AWOs the first time they visited – his own dog, Rosie, is a ex-Mayhew adoptee and so was especially pleased to see us!

We urgently need help ourselves to ensure we can continue supporting pets and people in need, both in the community and on-site at our Animal Home. Whilst we remain closed to the public and with many of our usual services postponed, our AWOs are still out and about helping stray, feral, unwanted and abandoned animals as much as they can, and are also committed to ensuring that as many vulnerable pets as possible are able to stay with owners who love them.

This will of course benefit both animals and owners, and ease the burden on shelters like ourselves who are operating at a lower capacity in line with government guidelines.

To make a donation, or find out more about our work, please visit our website here – and to find out more about the amazing work carried out by Trussell Trust in London and throughout the UK, please take a look at their own site here.