Nine Feet Tall have been working alongside the pet charity Blue Cross to support the rollout of a nationwide food bank for pets. Escalating energy and food costs due to extreme rises in inflation have meant many pet owners have had to make heartbreaking choices.
A recent Blue Cross survey reported almost 22% of respondents in a national survey “felt that they would be unable to afford food for their pets in the near future.” Blue Cross also reported “over 50% have changed their pet’s food recently to a lower cost option.”
To help Blue Cross tackle this crisis, Nine Feet Tall were engaged to support the set up and delivery of the rollout of a nationwide pet food bank service. Executing an operation of this scale has been a time sensitive and complex project, and Nine Feet Tall have worked alongside Blue Cross to manage the scope, planning and delivery of the pet food banks.
Blue Cross has been taking donations of pet food at 51 of its sites and working with local foodbanks to distribute much needed food to owners across the country. To maintain this service requires the public to keep donating as the crisis is still ongoing. Blue Cross needs more people to share what they can to benefit other pet owners and donate at its sites across England.
Nine Feet Tall Founder and CEO, Esther McMorris, said: “We understand the urgency and necessity of making the pet food banks a success, and have been very proud to support Blue Cross. The grand scale of the logistics has needed strong project management and it has been incredibly humbling and rewarding to oversee the design, set up and delivery of this project.”
Chris Burghes, CEO of Blue Cross, said: “As an organisation, we recognise the huge pressure the cost-of-living crisis is having on all areas of people’s lives. We are doing everything we can to support pet owners, whether that is through our clinical or behaviour services or through our network of pet food banks.
“Blue Cross has a growing number of pet food banks, where struggling owners can get free food for their pet companions. Some of our pet food banks have volunteer drivers who can deliver to pet owners who are unable to travel, and we are even able to cater for some special diets. We also provide free and reduced cost vet care to pets whose owners are on certain means-tested benefits.”
You can find out more about the pet food bank here: https://www.bluecross.org.uk/PetFoodBank
