Pet Food Stamps application offered for low-income families with pets nationwide

Pet food stamps are available today for any low income family that cannot afford to feed their pets. This looks like the sign of the times, as most families can’t afford to buy the groceries needed to feed their families, never mind a pet. According to ABC News on Monday, Feb. 25, 2013, this New York based program is open to anyone in the U.S. with a pet who meets the criteria.

The is a new donation-based program called Pet Food Stamps and for the people who qualify, after providing proof of income and need, you get on the program for your pet for a six month period. You receive pet food for the month from Pet Food Direct, a pet food retailer. So far over 45,000 people have enrolled in this program.

Pet Food Stamps application: The online application is found here on the Pet Food Stamps home website.

The program’s founder and executive director, Marc Okon, told ABC News that Pet Food Stamps is not looking for government funding at this point. “Should the government be willing to provide assistance down the line, we’ll look into it,“ said Okon.

It’s easy to apply to the program online, which is the only way to get the application right now. As soon as the Pet Food Stamps agency moves to its new location, they will then accept applications by mail. Applying for this program shouldn’t be a hardship for folks without computers, because most libraries offer public access to computers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service does their best to protect animals in emergencies and natural disasters, which would include supplying food for the animals in those types of situations. Other than that, there is no federal pet food stamp program in place for the everyday nutrition needs of pets.

Free pet food is available around the country in certain locations, as some animal shelters supply a food bank for pets of low-income families. This Pet Food Stamp program is nationwide, so if you are not lucky enough to live in an area with a pet food bank, you have Pet Food Stamps as an option.