'We are desperate': Animal Food Bank receives record number of requests
The need for pet food is at an all-time high, according to the Animal Food Bank, which is seeing record demand during the start of 2022.
The Animal Food Bank currently supplies animal food to people in two provinces, Manitoba and B.C., with the goal of ending food insecurity for pets.
Nicole Frey, the food bank's founder, said it's received an influx of requests since reopening after a short holiday break.
"We reopened on Jan. 8, and we have 112 requests in our queue as of this morning," said Frey. "So we normally on a busy month we see 250 to 300 requests. So if this keeps up, we're on track for 450 requests this month, which is our record, and I can only assume it is part and parcel for Omicron and just what we're seeing in the economy and society and lockdowns."
The recent two-week break is the first time the organization has closed since opening in 2019. Frey said it was well deserved, as last year was the organization's busiest.
"So what we saw in the year before is an increase in demand."
Frey said the demand rose and fell as government benefits were doled out and increased again during the holiday season.
On top of pressure from the pandemic, the Animal Food Bank also helped with several natural disasters in 2021.
"I think in the first 48 hours of the fires, we had sent 3500 pounds of food, and it was just scrambling to try and get all over the province to evacuation centers and organizations that were helping service pets," said Frey in reference to the B.C. wildfires last summer.
"Then floods hit, and it was 100 times worse. It was crazy because we had supply chain issues as well, and the highways were cut off, and we ended up sending about 10,000 pounds of food in 10 days out of Alberta actually."
The food bank's year-end report showed a 30 per cent increase in requests for its services, going from 2,200 requests in 2020 to 3,200 in 2021.
According to the report, the Animal Food Banks gave 63,270 meals to dogs and 152,990 meals to cats in 2021.
Frey said the food bank is looking for donations to meet the high demand.
"We are desperate for dry cat food right now," she said. "You'll see in our stats that we see far more many meals to cats than we do dogs in Winnipeg, and so we're always, always, always in need of I need of dry cat food."
Frey said the organization is also looking for people to donate their time and gas as delivery drivers.
"We can only deliver as fast as our drivers can pick up and take to our clients, and so with 112 requests coming in within the last seven days, we are desperate for drivers."
Moving forward into 2022, Frey said she is hoping the demand starts to level off and the food bank can start working on other projects.
"We have so many other initiatives that are waiting to be promoted or to take it off the ground. We want to look at sponsoring pets for low-income kids. We want to look at welfare clinics where we vet and do heartworm tests and things like that."
More information on donations and volunteering can be found on the organization's website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW 'She was waiting for you': The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother in England
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Gaza's Rafah ahead of an expected assault
The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza's southern city of Rafah to start evacuating from the area, signalling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
'Love has no boundaries': Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Ontario family releases statement on infant son, grandparents killed in wrong-way Highway 401 crash
An Ontario family says they are 'reeling' in 'profound grief' after losing their three-month-old son and parents visiting from India in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last Monday.