Feline friends and dog devotees at the UH Center for Public Policy jumped at the chance to help the pets of elderly Houstonians when aniMeals on Wheels asked for assistance in replenishing dry pet food stockpiles.
AniMeals on Wheels is a project that materialized from the well-known Meals on Wheels program. AniMeals aims to bring not only hot meals to homebound seniors, but also to supply them with food for their furry companions.
“They started aniMeals on Wheels in Houston last year,” Renée Cross, associate director of CPP, said. “They noticed some clients were giving their own food to their pets.”
The program allows Meals on Wheels’ clients to keep a pet in their home without the financial burden of providing food for the animal, which in many cases is an elderly person’s only companion.
For more than two weeks, students have dropped off pet food in the five red boxes stationed around campus.
The campus drive ended April 16 and generated 475 pounds. of dog food and 206 pounds of cat food for seniors’ live-in companions.
“This is the first time we’ve done this on campus,” Cross said. “It seemed to catch on very easily.”
Because of the success of the program, Cross said he believes the pet food drives will become a regular occurrence at UH.
“This is the first time we’ve done this on campus, and it was very popular,” Cross said. “We’re thinking this will be at least an annual event, maybe we’ll hold drives every fall and spring semester.”
The drive also spread beyond UH faculty and students when the 12-year-old daughter of a CPP board member heard about the aniMeals on Wheels program and got her Girl Scout troop involved, Cross said.
“They’ll have a donation coming in the next week or so,” Cross said. “Right now we don’t have the amount in pounds, but that should help too.”
The program also provides a good opportunity for students to get involved in community outreach programs.
“We’re trying to attract students not only to political work, but also to community service,” Cross said.
Students who still want to make donations to aniMeals on Wheels can bring food or money to Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston, which coordinates Meals on Wheels and aniMeals on Wheels.
Interfaith Ministries and Meals on Wheels serve more than 3,600 homebound seniors in the Houston area, and in the case of clients with pets, dry food donations are repackaged and distributed monthly.
Students are encouraged to continue to donate pet food directly to Interfaith Ministries during the summer months when food reserves tend to be at their thinnest. Volunteers are also always needed, Cross said.
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