More Than a Meal: What a Bag of Pet Food Can Do
September is Hunger Action Month, a nationwide effort to raise awareness about food insecurity and inspire action to end hunger. For many families across the East Bay, that challenge reaches every member of the household, including their pets.
At East Bay SPCA, we recognize that access to necessities like pet food and supplies can make the difference between keeping pets with their people and the heartbreaking decision to surrender. Our Humane Advocacy team works to provide pet food, supplies, resources, and referrals to pet parents going through tough times.
A Pantry and a Place to Turn
Our monthly Pet Food Pantry at our Oakland Adoption Center provides free wet and dry pet food to hundreds of Alameda County pet parents each month. Clients can access prescription pet food when needed and pick up items like treats, leashes, toys, and bedding. They can also learn more about our other programs and services, including discounted training, veterinary assistance, and our spay/neuter vouchers.
But our Pet Food Pantry offers something just as important as food: a trusted place to turn. When pet parents know help is close by, they are more likely to reach out before a problem turns into a crisis.
January through July of 2026, we have distributed 23,887 pounds of pet food to our community. That adds up to 129,526 meals for cats and dogs across Alameda County in just seven months.
That pace follows a year of steady growth. In 2025, we saw an increased need for our Pantry and related services. We responded with multiple food drives, expanded Pantry hours, and additional registration slots. Our community supported our efforts by donating food, supplies, money, and time to help neighbors in need.
“Some of the hardest parts are hearing that people choose to feed their pets over themselves,” said Brita Loeb, Humane Advocacy Manager at East Bay SPPCA. “Community members with limited resources will make the hard decision to buy food for their pet instead of themselves. Our Pet Food Pantry helps eliminate that hard choice.”
These moments illustrate the impact we can have when we step up to support each other:
February 2025: In memory of Dublin cat volunteer Alexys Garcia, her family held a Pet Food Drive at our Dublin Adoption Center and dedicated a cat condo in her honor. A surprise donation of four pallets of dog and cat food brought the afternoon drive’s total to more than 10,000 pounds.
August 2025: Our Humane Advocacy program was awarded $10,000 in pet food through Pet Food Express’ Fill the Foodbanks initiative. The donation included 3,354 pounds of dog food and 1,200 pounds of cat food, adding up to almost 70,000 meals.
November 2025: With the temporary halt to SNAP benefits and increased food insecurity for East Bay residents, we launched a weekend-long Pet Food Drive to help feed as many pets as possible. The response was incredible, with more than 19,000 pounds of food donated to our Pantry program.
What a Bag of Pet Food Can Open the Door To
Those numbers add up to meals. They also add up to something harder to count.
Danyel came to the Pet Food Pantry for food for her dogs, Bella and Moose. While she was there, our Humane Advocacy team noticed that Bella was struggling with a severe leg injury. Danyel loved Bella deeply, but like many pet parents facing difficult circumstances, barriers had prevented her from seeking the care Bella needed. Before care, Danyel first needed support.
That support started with pet food, and it grew from there. Through patient, compassionate conversations across her visits, Danyel began to trust our team. Thanks to grant funding, our veterinarians at the Theodore B. Travers Family Veterinary Clinic were able to treat Bella’s injured leg, and Bella stayed with us through our Hold for Home program while she recovered. Danyel visited nearly every day, often bringing Moose along.
Bella went home healthy, with post-op instructions and supplies, a new leash and collar, and pet food.
None of this support would have happened if Danyel didn’t walk through our Pet Food Pantry doors first.
Growing our Impact in 2026
Every month, the Pet Food Pantry feeds hundreds of pets across Alameda County. Along the way, it does something that’s harder to measure: it gives pet parents a place to turn before a hard month becomes an impossible one. Support offered with compassion, not judgment, is what keeps pets like Bella home with the people who love them.
Hunger doesn’t take a month off, and neither does our Pet Food Pantry. In 2026, our goal is to expand the Pantry even more, so more pet parents across the East Bay have a trusted place to turn when times get tough, and more pets can stay home with their families.
Getting there takes our whole community. Every bag of food on our shelves is a bag someone chose to give.
How You Can Help
Shop our Amazon Wishlist. Send pet food straight to our Pantry at our Amazon wishlist.
Drop off pet food in person. Visit our Oakland Adoption Center or Dublin Adoption Center, Wednesday-Sunday, 11:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Donations can be placed in the donation bins at the shelter entrance. We accept unopened dog and cat food in its original packaging that has not expired.
However you give, you are helping a pet parent keep the pet they love. Thank you for stepping up for our community.
Humane Advocacy
Keeping Pets and People Together
East Bay SPCA’s Humane Advocacy team helps pets and the people who love them stay together. Whether a family needs pet food, affordable veterinary care, behavior support, temporary pet care through Hold for Home, or help navigating an unexpected crisis, our programs are designed to provide compassionate, practical solutions before a family reaches a breaking point.
By meeting people where they are and offering support without judgment, Humane Advocacy helps keep pets healthy, families together, and more animals out of the shelter.