No one should have to decide whether they eat or their pet eats. However, many metro Detroiters are forced to make this unfortunate decision. Often, pet owners choose to feed their animals instead of themselves. Our Caplan Family Pet Food Pantry, established six years ago, works to prevent pet families from having to make this choice and instead provides them with the resources they need to keep everyone fed and together.
“We saw a need,” said Katie Franklin, Michigan Humane’s Director of Community Solutions. “We saw a need in the community for people who love their pets [and] want to provide for their pets but maybe didn’t have access to the resources.”
It started small with pet food donations being handed out to clients at our shelter locations. As the demand grew, the pantry moved into a warehouse in Detroit and began distributing food in a drive-up model. This process worked for a while, but we knew there was more opportunity.
Just last year, the Caplan Family Pet Food Pantry relocated to another larger warehouse that is shared with Gleaners Community Food Bank and began a new distribution model to help reach even more families in the community. We now join our partners Gleaners and Forgotten Harvest at their pantry events and distribute our pet food alongside their human food. Together, we serve 200-400 individuals at each pantry event at locations across metro Detroit.
While our pantry events serve many members of the community, we don’t stop there. Michigan Humane’s Community Solutions team also conducts home deliveries of pet food for those who are homebound or disabled. We currently have about 700 clients on our list that we rotate through monthly. Mark Ramos, Community Resource Manager for the Caplan Family Pet Food Pantry, is “very proud” of the entire pet food distribution model: “Having the ability to reach the public closer to home [and] being able to get food to them makes this a whole lot easier and more convenient for them.”
We’ve also been able to distribute supplies to 150 different rescue partners in the surrounding community. Our partners have taken pet food, pet beds, toys, litter, crates, chews, treats and more from us and have used them for their fosters and adopters. Each of these rescues has its unique mission but one common goal: help animals. We are grateful that we can supply them with what they need and help them continue their great work in the community.
Our pet food pantry has grown exponentially because of our new distribution model. At our old warehouse location, we were distributing 160,000 pounds of pet food a month; at our new location, we are averaging 200,000 pounds a month. Last month, our Community Solutions team distributed 25,731 pounds of food, 4,074 pounds of litter, and 1,900 pounds of durables in just one week. Last year, we served about 1.6 million pounds of food into the metro Detroit community. We reached that goal within the first six months of 2024 and are now on track for 2 million pounds this year.
“We’re seeing more animals get served and fed…and that’s what we’re all here for, right?” Katie said with a smile on her face. “We wanna keep these animals fed and happy and exactly where they are: loved at home.”
Looking ahead, the Caplan Family Pet Food Pantry hopes to increase the number of animals and people served in metro Detroit. We also want to focus on targeting areas in the community with the greatest need and find other avenues to supply resources to pet families through medical care, health and human services and more. Katie is looking forward to the growing impact that the pet pantry can make on pet families in our community.
“Wherever we can, we’re breaking down those barriers and making it possible for people to be the best family they can be for their pets…By meeting people where they’re at and supporting their pet ownership, we’re working to make this a better, more humane community.”
For more information on our pet pantry, click here.