Meals for the Elderly to Provide Pet Food

They provide meals for seniors in the Concho Valley. However what happens when their meal is delivered and there's not food for their pet?  Now, thanks to a grant, Meals for the Elderly will now be able to help out. Jason Calder reports.

Meals for the Elderly has been providing warm meals to seniors in the area for many years. Now thanks to a grant, the organization will also be able to feed the four legged friends of those seniors.

Tiffani Paige, Program Director for Meals for the Elderly, said, "We obtained a WALOP grant, which stands for We All Love Our Pets, through the Meals on Wheels Association of America."

Paige said the service is needed for seniors who can't always provide food for their pets.

She said, "Nationwide there's been a growing problem with the elderly sharing their meals with their pets because they're hungry and they know their pet is hungry. There's just not enough food to go around."

The W.A.L.O.P. grant is for $500 and will help jump start the program. The organization is also receiving a challenge grant from the United Way. However, they still need your help in making the program a success.

She added, "We need to build a building on our property to house the pet food so that it won't attract bugs and rodents into our building with our senior food. So it needs to be housed outside and we also need a lot of storage containers for the food."

Paige said it's important to not only think about the seniors but the pet that could be their only companion.

"This might be the only companion this person has in their day to day life other than the driver that delivers the meals from our program. So we really want to make sure that those animals are around for a long time."

So whether it's time, money or pet food, do your part to help. It will go a long way to make life better for some of our senior citizens.

Veterinarian care will also be provided thanks to the Tom Green County Humane Society. If you would like to donate money or pet food, Meals for the Elderly would like to hear from you. They are also in need of volunteers to deliver the food once a month, regardless of day or time. For more information call 655-9200.