SUMMIT COUNTY, Ohio — Across the state, families are struggling to make ends meet.

This includes feeding their beloved pets.

 

What You Need To Know

  • Across the state families are struggling to make ends meet, which includes feeding their pets

  • The Humane Society of Summit County donated 25,000 pounds of pet food to multiple food banks in their county

  • If you need pet food assistance, you can contact Humane Society of Summit County for a list of participating food banks

 

“Something we hear is that people are sharing their human food with their pets and going without just to make sure their pets get food.”

Louise DiLullo from the Humane Society of Summit County said that's where they step in to help.

"We’ve been wanting for a long time to supply pet food for our communities residents who are most in need to help them get through periods of hard ship and keep their animals in loving homes.”

With a grant made possible through federal CARES Act funding, the humane society was able to make that happen by donating more than 25,000 pounds of pet food to 15 food pantries across Summit County.

“One food pantry manager told me that when they announce that they have pet food available that it will be a bigger rush than the week before Thanksgiving when they are giving out turkeys.”

DiLullo said she has seen first-hand the negative impacts of the pandemic with more people looking to surrender their pets now than ever.

“We have been getting more calls from people who want to surrender owned animals and if people love their animals and want to keep them, we want to make sure they can.”

You can call the Humane Society of Summit County for a list of food banks that will be offering pet food.