A Downer’s Grove woman is helping out families in need in the western suburbs with the creation of the Wet Nose Pet Food Pantry. Through her own community involvement, Kate Quinn saw there were few services for families that had pets and just needed a little help when times got tough so they could keep their pets instead of having to worry about sending them back into the shelter system.
“Because I love to help out animal causes and veterans, I first set up the pet food pantry to help veterans and the families of soldiers in need,” says Kate Quinn, founder of the organization. “I realized that there were so many people in need and that was too narrow a group. Now, I’ve expanded to help people in need that have pets. I also like to help out animal rescue communities by helping out home-based foster programs and feral cat programs when we have enough food.”
Donation Drive
Quinn held a pet food donation drive at various Downers Grove businesses in December to help collect items for the pet food pantry. She continues to get donations from private citizens, pet stores and grocery stores as well as cash donations to help her pay for food. She accepts food and supply donations for all kinds of pets at the storage facility - Eagle Storage, 555 Rogers Street, Downers Grove.
“Our drive in December went pretty well considering it was our first year and that many businesses were just learning about what we do and how they could help us out,” says Quinn. “Some small businesses really pitched in beyond what I expected. Throughout the community, it’s still a little slow growing because the whole idea of a pet food pantry is quite new to many people in my area.”
Distribution times
She distributes food at 10 a.m. on designated Saturdays at the storage facility to the first 10 or 15 families that come for help. The food pantry will be open tomorrow (January 28), February 11, February 18, March 10 and March 24. She sees more people in need each week as word begins to grow about the Wet Nose Pet Food Pantry.
Fundraising
Now that the word is getting out, she is also working on fundraisers to help her keep the shelves stocked. A cook book is in the works and Quinn would like either recipe submissions or advertising from local businesses to help support the project and her pantry. The deadline is March 31st. You may reach Quinn by email at photocat@meowmail.com or mail recipes to 1208 71st St #8, Downers Grove, IL 60516
Learn more
Those in need may check out her website for information and for an application. Quinn says she can always use food and cash donations to help her keep the pantry going for people in her community. Donations may be mailed in or done through PayPal. Follow the Wet Nose Pet Food Pantry on Facebook to find out when and where they’ll be open for food pick up.
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