I need pet food -

Program Rules for Returning & New Clients

How to qualify for pet food assistance:

We no longer have an income requirement. These days too many people are two paychecks away from disaster.
You must have proof of pet ownership. A picture at time of sign up via text message or Facebook messenger
We also require ALL pets to be spayed or neutered. But our requirements are not without low-cost assistance options with a few local organizations that offer low-cost spay/neuter options.
- We require ALL cats to be spayed or neutered. But IF THERE IS EVEN 1 FEMALE UNSPAYED CAT IN THE HOUSE WE WILL NOT GIVE ANY CAT FOOD WITHOUT PROOF OF A SPAY APPOINTMENT ALREADY SET. We will need to confirm with the vet. And here is why……
- The founder of our organization is an experienced in animal rescue and cat TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return – to their colony for feeding & care management) person. There is a saying around TNR, “If you feed, they will breed & now you are responsible a family of cats”. It is the females that initiate the breeding, feral as well as loved pets. They will not breed if they do not have a secured food source (or for feral, maybe 2 or 3 sources) and a safe place to give birth and raise their kittens (feral cats may move their kittens up to 2 times a day if they feel the kitten are threatened).
- Cats in heat and looking to breed are also better escape artists then Houdini himself. And because it is hard for us to evaluate every cat owner for their determination to keep a female cat locked up, we have this hard and fast rule. As much as we want to feed your pets, we will not feed the pet overpopulation problem that has rescues and shelters so overburdened.
- ALONG WITH THE PROOF OF SPAY APPOINTMENT, we also will not provide further assistance to your household if you do not follow thru with that appointment.
- We require ALL dogs to be spayed or neutered. But we focus on the Females first & then the males. Because we know times are tough & we have a list of a few other organizations that offer affordable options to help you get your pet dog fixed. We do give out the list of resources at the time of sign up or you can click here.

How we do things here at Food 4 Paws:

We have a Pantry Day every month on the 4^th Sat of the month
- NOT the last Sat, the 4^th Sat of the Month
On Pantry Day we are only open for 2 hours for people who have received a confirmation reply by return text message, Facebook messenger or verbal reply by return call or voicemail message.
If you would like to get on the list:
As a RETURN client:
- You must contact us BEFORE 12 noon on the 3^rd Friday
  - by phone call/voicemail message
  - text message
  - Or Facebook messenger via our Facebook page facebook.com/food4pawspetpantry
- Please feel free to contact us all 3 ways as many times as you want until you hear back with confirmation. Technology has failed us countless times and we really want to help you. We will not be bothered in the slightest at multiple attempts to contact us.
- However, please know that our President, answers all the messages, works full time so please be patient. Everyone at Food 4 Paws are volunteers with jobs, families, etc., but we really love what we do here at Food 4 Paws.
As a NEW client:
- Hello! We are really happy to help you! Please understand that all of us are volunteers with jobs, families, etc., but we really love what we do here at Food 4 Paws.
- The fastest way to reach us if you are truly in an urgent situation is by messenger on our Facebook page: facebook.com/food4pawspetpantry. However, our phone calls and text messages are checked as often as possible, usually every couple days.
- Once we reach out to you initially:
  - We will be asking your about your pet. Most of this information is for identification purposes & so we know how to provide just the right food (kibble size and amount) now and in the future should you need it.
  - The other questions are so we can provide you with other resources available to keep your pets safe and healthy as affordable as possible. These are given on an as needed basis.
  - We are also going to ask you for information about yourself:
    - Name. If you contact us via Facebook we understand that some people don’t like to use their real name, but because we require ID for new clients, until we get to know you.
    - We will also ask you about your household:
      - How many adults (over 18yrs old)?
      - How many children (under 18yrs old)?
      - What is your Monthly Income?
      - What is the source of your Monthly Income?
    - These questions help us when we apply for grants to keep our programs going.

How we help as many people as much as we can. We have 3 main pet food programs:

Food 4 All – Our General Program: This is our main program. Any qualifying household can request pet food assistance 3 times a year. We also work hard during the Fall to be able to hold our Christmas Special. This allows our General Clients the ability to come at Christmas time for approximately a 2 week supply.

You are obligated to inform us if any of your pets pass away or you rehome any pets.
Getting pet food for a pet that is no longer in your home is grounds for being barred from receiving pet food assistance for:

1^st time = No pet food assistance for 1 year
2^nd time = Permanently barred from receiving pet food assistance.
This is not baseball, there is no 3 strikes! Taking food from another pet because you want to stock up is not tolerated.

Also, getting more pets while you are receiving pet food assistance is NOT allowed. We are not here to make it easier for you to feed more pets.

*****We all love animals and no one wants homeless pets, but if you are already struggling enough to ask us for assistance then you have to let rescues and shelters do what they do. However, if you really want to help more pets, follow rescues and shelters on Facebook and share their posts of homeless pets to your profile as well as into any Facebook groups your are part of. Tell your friends, family and anyone that will listen about the adorable pet in need of a home.

We Salute You – Our Veteran Program: Any qualifying household is able to request pet food assistance every month for a 1-2 week supply (varies depending on donations). To be placed on this program you only need to show a valid DD214 with a picture ID that matches, a picture ID from the VA, or a driver’s license/State issued ID with “Veteran” on it. You NEVER have to qualify ever again. You have our forever “Thank you for your service.” and this is just one way we can show our gratitude.

1^st time = No pet food assistance for 1 year
2^nd time = Permanently barred from receiving pet food assistance.
This is not baseball, there is no 3 strikes! Taking food from another pet because you want to stock up is not tolerated.

Also, getting more pets while you are receiving pet food assistance is NOT allowed. We are not here to make it easier for you to feed more pets.

Age is Just a Number – Our Senior Program: Any qualifying household is able to request pet food assistance every month for a 1-2 weeks supply (varies depending on donations). To be placed on this program you must be 60 years or older. If you start as a client with us before you turn 60 years old, please advise us after your 60^th birthday that you would like to be moved to this program. This program, like our General Program, does require a new application about every 2 years from your original sign up date. Occasionally we do a Pantry wide “everyone over 1 year has to do a new app”.

1^st time = No pet food assistance for 1 year
2^nd time = Permanently barred from receiving pet food assistance.
This is not baseball, there is no 3 strikes! Taking food from another pet because you want to stock up is not tolerated.

Also, getting more pets while you are receiving pet food assistance is NOT allowed. We are not here to make it easier for you to feed more pets.

*****We all love animals, and no one wants homeless pets, but if you are already struggling enough to ask us for assistance then you have to let rescues and shelters do what they do. However, if you really want to help more pets, follow rescues and shelters on Facebook and share their posts of homeless pets to your profile as well as into any Facebook groups you are part of. Tell your friends, family and anyone that will listen about the adorable pet in need of a home.

Feral/Community/Colony Cats: This program is on an “as available” basis due to the shortages we face with dry cat food donation. However we are often blessed enough to fulfill the quarterly requests.

While our mission is focused around pets in the home. We understand that people have a fond relationship with outside pets. However, dry cat food is our least donated item. So what we have decided to do is offer quarterly donations. This means that 4 times a year we will provide APPROVED colony managers (person that is caring for a feral/community/colony group cats). We are 100% donations, this program is on an “as available” basis. When you sign up we will give you months you can request cat food.

If you are getting help from a spay/neuter or TNR program/organization: To be approved the person applying will need to prove that ALL cats they are feeding ARE Spay/Neutered. Since this process usually requires help from local non-profit group and paperwork is not provide to the Colony manager because the organization is usually taking multiple cats from different colonies to the vet at the same time so the receipt is in the organization’s name and will have cats from different colonies. In this case you will need to provide us the name of the organization that helped you so we can verify the cats were fixed and how many. We will also ask for pictures of your cats.

If you spent your own time and money to fix the outside cats you care for: To be approved the person applying will need to prove that ALL cats they are feeding ARE Spay/Neutered. Pictures of the spay/neuter paperwork/receipt you received from the vet and pictures of the matching cats.