NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PetSmart announced today that the first of four massive pet food donation waves is underway thanks to its philanthropic Buy a Bag, Give a Meal program, where for every bag of dog or cat food purchased online or in its 1,500-plus stores through Dec. 31, 2017, the retailer will donate a meal to a pet in need. Through this historic program, PetSmart expects to donate 60 million meals* to pets in need at hundreds of shelters and rescues across North America, as well as human food banks, pantries and meal programs, where pet food is a rare offering.
To get the food to those in need, the retailer is working with nonprofit partner PetSmart Charities, which is teaming up with GreaterGood.org’s Rescue Bank program and Feeding America®, two renowned national nonprofit organizations, to deliver this massive pet food donation immediately to pets in need across the U.S., as well as animal welfare agencies in Canada.
Three 53-foot semi trucks will arrive in New York City, while three more semi trucks will roll in to Los Angeles today showcasing PetSmart’s coast-to-coast pet food donation. Over the next four weeks, a total of 92 semi truckloads will arrive in 70 cities in 31 states and three Canadian provinces carrying 17 million meals – more than 3.6 million pounds – to help feed hungry pets in need across North America.
PetSmart launched the Buy a Bag, Give a Meal program in celebration of its 30th anniversary, and with the expected 60 million meals donated under this program, it is the biggest philanthropic campaign in its 30-year history. As a point of reference, using a standard six-inch pet food bowl, 60 million meals lined up beside each other would span from New York City to Los Angeles and back again – covering more than 5,500 miles.
“The Buy a Bag, Give a Meal program is simple. Shoppers can buy any bag of dog or cat food, any size, any brand, and we’ll donate a meal to a pet in need,” said Eran Cohen, chief customer experience officer, PetSmart. “Together we have already generated nearly 30 million meals and are confident we’ll hit our goal of 60 million meals. We’re just getting started with this first wave of truck deliveries, with three more massive semi truck deliveries planned into 2018.”
Expertly Distributing the Massive Amount of Pet Food to Hundreds of Locations
PetSmart Charities, the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, will take on the distribution of the massive amount of pet food donated by PetSmart and is dedicated to quickly and efficiently getting the pet food to hungry pets in need across North America. Rescue Bank will help allocate the donated pet food to animal welfare organizations across the U.S., and Feeding America will disperse the donated pet food to food banks, food pantries and meal programs. In Canada, four large animal welfare organizations from across the country, some who partner with or operate their own local pet food banks, will distribute the donated pet food.
“When our partners at PetSmart shared this big idea to donate a meal for every bag of dog or cat food purchased, we were overwhelmed by the generosity and thrilled to take on the challenge of distributing such a large volume of pet food to help pets in need across North America,” said David Haworth, DVM, Ph.D., president of PetSmart Charities. “This program enables PetSmart Charities to continue our mission of helping homeless pets in need and connecting people and pets and keeping them connected. Supporting shelters and rescues is a big part of what we’ve done every day for more than two decades, and Buy a Bag, Give a Meal also allows us to help families in need by providing much-needed pet food, helping to keep pets with their families and out of shelters.”
During this first big pet food delivery wave now underway through Sept. 14, 92 semi trucks will deliver 17 million meals – more than 3.6 million pounds – to shelters, rescues and food banks across the U.S. and Canada. Three similarly sized truck deliveries are expected later this year and into 2018.
“We are pleased to team up with PetSmart Charities, which serves a major role in our Buy a Bag, Give a Meal program,” said Cohen. “PetSmart Charities is expertly getting the pet food to pets in need across North America. We are thankful to their team and their partners at Feeding America and Rescue Bank, for moving swiftly to effectively get the food to hungry pets that need it the most in hundreds of local markets across the continent.”
The pet food is made at PetSmart’s vendor partner American Nutrition Inc. (ANI) in Ogden, Utah, where semi trucks filled with 50 pallets each of donated pet food will roll out every weekday now through Sept. 14 for this delivery wave. Each weekday across the six weeks, trucks will leave ANI with more than 561,792 pet food meals on board totaling nearly 109,700 pounds.
The semi trucks loaded with the donated pet food will be arriving in cities across North America including New York City, Los Angeles, Toronto, Honolulu, Fargo, Houston, Phoenix, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, San Diego, Detroit, Austin and points in between. Click here for a list of cities and nonprofit partners that will receive the pet food donated during the August and September truck delivery wave from PetSmart’s Buy a Bag, Give a Meal program.
About PetSmart®
PetSmart, Inc. is the largest specialty pet retailer of services and solutions for the lifetime needs of pets. At PetSmart, we love pets, and we believe pets make us better people. Every day with every connection, PetSmart’s passionate associates help bring pet parents closer to their pets so they, together, can live more fulfilled lives. This vision impacts everything we do for our customers, the way we support our associates and how we give back to our communities. We employ approximately 55,000 associates, operate more than 1,500 pet stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, as well as more than 200 in-store PetSmart® PetsHotel® dog and cat boarding facilities. PetSmart provides a broad range of competitively priced pet food and products, as well as pet-focused services such as dog training, pet grooming, pet boarding, PetSmart® Doggie Day Camp® and pet adoption. PetSmart, together with non-profits PetSmart Charities® and PetSmart Charities™ of Canada, invite more than 3,000 animal welfare organizations to bring adoptable pets into stores so they have the best chance possible of finding a forever home. Through this in-store adoption program and other signature events, PetSmart has facilitated more than 7.4 million adoptions – more than any other brick-and-mortar organization. The company’s portfolio of digital resources for pet parents includes PetSmart.com, OnlyNaturalPet.com, petMD.com, Pawculture.com, AllPaws, an online pet adoption platform that helps potential pet parents find the perfect pet to adopt based on their home, family and lifestyle, as well as BlogPaws, the world’s first pet blogger and influencer network. Through these digital platforms, PetSmart offers the most comprehensive online pet supplies and pet care information in the U.S. In celebration of its 30th anniversary, PetSmart launched its Buy a Bag, Give a Meal™ program in March 2017. For every bag of cat or dog food purchased March 1 – Dec. 31, 2017, PetSmart will donate a meal to pets in need and expects to donate more than 60 million meals in 2017*. In May 2017, PetSmart acquired Chewy.com, a leading online retailer of pet food and products in the U.S., which operates as an independent subsidiary.
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*Ends 12/31/17. 5 oz. dog food, 1.5 oz. cat food donated to PetSmart Charities to feed dogs and cats in need. See details at www.petsmart.com/giveameal. The actual number of meals donated is based on dog and cat food bags sold. The meal donation estimate is based on historic sales for similar time periods. No guaranteed amount. Rescue Bank and Feeding America will help distribute a large portion of the pet food donation in the U.S., while four large animal welfare agencies will distribute it in Canada.
About PetSmart Charities®
PetSmart Charities, Inc. is a nonprofit animal welfare organization with a mission to find lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together. In addition to finding homes for almost 500,000 shelter pets each year through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, PetSmart Charities provides funding to non-profits aligned with its mission through four key areas of grant support: Preventing Pet Homelessness; Helping Shelter Pets Thrive; Supporting the Bond Between People and Pets; and Emergency Relief and Disaster Support. Each year, millions of generous PetSmart shoppers help pets in need by donating to PetSmart Charities using the pin pads at checkout registers inside PetSmart stores. In turn, PetSmart Charities efficiently uses 90 cents of every dollar donated and has become the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, donating about $300 million to date. PetSmart Charities, a 501(c)(3) organization, has received the Four Star Rating from Charity Navigator, an independent organization that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of nonprofits, for the past 14 years in a row -- placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization. To learn more visit www.petsmartcharities.org.
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About PetSmart Charities™ of Canada
PetSmart Charities of Canada is a registered Canadian charity with a mission to find lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together. In addition to finding homes for more than 25,000 shelter pets each year through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart stores, PetSmart Charities of Canada provides funding to registered charities aligned with its mission through four key areas of grant support: Preventing Pet Homelessness; Helping Shelter Pets Thrive; Supporting the Bond Between People and Pets; and Emergency Relief and Disaster Support. Each year, millions of generous PetSmart shoppers help pets in need by donating to PetSmart Charities of Canada using the pin pads at checkout registers inside PetSmart stores. In turn, PetSmart Charities efficiently uses 89 cents of every dollar donated and has become a leading funder of animal welfare in Canada, donating nearly $12 million to date. PetSmart Charities of Canada is a member of Imagine Canada, and a registered Canadian charity independent from PetSmart, Inc. To learn more, visit www.petsmartcharities.ca.
About Rescue Bank
Rescue Bank, a Signature Program of GreaterGood.org, operates on the national food bank model to community-based animal welfare groups that typically lack access to resources. Rescue Bank recognizes that these smaller, less-visible groups represent a substantial portion of America’s animal rescue resource.
Rescue Bank works with name-brand suppliers to deliver donated pet food for both the ongoing needs of more than 1,900 animal welfare organizations and the immediate needs of communities after disasters such as hurricanes, floods and fires. Since establishing its national network in 2011, Rescue Bank has delivered over 200 million meals of nutritious, wholesome pet food.
For more information visit http://rescuebank.org or find us on Facebook at facebook.com/RescueBank.
About Feeding America
Feeding America is the nationwide network of 200 food banks that leads the fight against hunger in the United States. Together, we provide food to more than 46 million people through 60,000 food pantries and meal programs in communities across America. Feeding America also supports programs that improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
