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Ever in the habit of increasing our capacity to best serve DC residents in need, Bread for the City and the VCA MacArthur Animal Hospital have launched the Washington DC VCA Pet Food Pantry, (or as we like to call it, ‘Bread for the Kitties!’) The initiative is a collaboration with VCA, an international corporation of veterinary hospitals, and Hill’s Pet Nutrition. Together, these two organizations host events in cities across the country, with Hill’s providing the pet food and VCA providing the distribution network.

Bread for the City is the home of VCA’s first pet food pantry in the District of Columbia and we were  thrilled to welcome them to our NW Center on July 28th. The pet food pantry operates like a regular food pantry: it gives out free pet food for dogs and cats and serves pet owners in need by empowering them to be able to provide proper care to their beloved pets. “Our pet food pantry program started in 2010,” says Ron Tatum, Director of VCA Charities, “Bread for the City will be our 27th pantry and we hope to have 30 by the end of this calendar year. 1.7 million pet meals served so far, and with Bread’s addition to the network we will pass the two million milestone by the end of September.”

The response to this first event was great. Jessica Frisch, Medical Director at VCA MacArthur Animal Hospital, was very pleased with the turnout noting that, “People are pleasantly surprised. They are happy not only to get to the food, but to tell us how their pets are doing, sharing pictures and videos.”

The pet food pantry will operate regularly from Bread for the City’s Northwest Center, with the next distribution date to be announced soon. Be sure to stop by with your pet pictures, share those furry faces with us, and pick up a package of pet food!

Comment below and let us know what you think of the new partnership and the name Bread for the Kitties!