I have been to the Bicester Blue Cross a charity shop for 10 minutes when Mark* rushes into the back room to give manager Patricia Hassall a hug and thank her for all she has done. Mark is one of many pet owners who visited the grocery store regularly for dog supplies when times were financially tough.
His XL bully Chico weighs 17 stone and requires a lot of food, something Mark has struggled to afford since a motorcycle accident a year ago left him injured and unable to work. His universal credit does not stretch far enough for him to comfortably feed his “best friend” Chico. “It’s been my therapy,” she tells me when she stops hugging Hassall and sits down.
We are in the warehouse of the charity shop, and the assistant manager Paul is busy tagging. Next to us is a variety of pet food donated by the public, or pet stores, neatly arranged next to old water bowls, and some bags of hay and cat litter.
This store has been providing pet food and supplies to those in need since 2022, after the charity realized how many pet owners had given up their pets because of the costs. Mark is one of them, and he says that he would have had to “give up his child” without the help of the Blue Cross. He was complying with the legal requirements of muzzling Chico and keeping him on a lead at all times, so he can keep it. He walks him three to four times a day despite his leg injury, and says he couldn’t imagine life without him.
Hassall says pet owners like Mark are why pet food banks are so important and their services are becoming more and more vital. “There’s been a huge increase in full-time working people coming in. It’s heartbreaking,” he says i. “It’s not just people on benefits. The local vet sent people to eat, we had social workers, carers and nurses in their uniforms.”
Blue Cross’s Pet Food Bank Project started in the Sheffield store in 2020 as a pandemic response, but has expanded to five stores in the UK and has now fed almost 2.3 million pets. More than 72,000 pet owners have been helped overall and, in the Bicester store alone, 100 animals have been fed this month, and more than 3,000 by January 2023.
Hassall remembers an elderly woman who came to ask how she was going to rehome her cat since she could no longer pay her bills and her food. “He started crying,” says Pat. “She said she had bills and electricity to pay and that her care costs were going up and she didn’t know how to feed her cat. I told her we’re going to feed her until she doesn’t have to us. Now she comes regularly.”
This story is not unique. One woman comes to the grocery store every week and collects four packages of dog food for pets belonging to local homeless people, while others, like Mindy, collect for their own pets. Mindy comes regularly to get food for her cat Barny. “We need places like these. There’s no need for animals to suffer,” Hassall tells me, as he points to shelves stocked with wet and dry food that he packs up to give away. “It’s a sad situation, but it brought the community together. People understand that it’s hard to feed your pet now.”
There are a few naysayers, though, says Hassall. “Some people say that if you can’t afford to feed them you don’t have them, but the situation is changing. People lose their jobs. People have accidents. They have an illness where they were working full time and then suddenly they have no income. Should they go without their pet? No, I don’t think they should.”
Hassall, who has three dogs herself, has worked at the Bicester branch for two years, along with two other full-time staff and 15 volunteers. During this time, pet owners have trusted and trusted her, and she observes that many need to keep their pets for for his mental health.
“I have seen pets being the last link with someone’s husband or wife. Someone should not have to give up because their circumstances have changed or the economy fails. You are asking them to give up something that keeps them alive. Many people get out of bed only in the morning because they have their pet.
As we walk through the store together, the animals food donation cart he sits in a corner and a gentleman adds some dog food. He is a single donor, but many who come are regulars, says Hassall. One couple donates a large amount every Friday, which she estimates feeds 10 pets for three days.
The generosity of the public, and contributions from Pets At Home, whose stores all have donation bins, means the branch has regular stock on its shelves and staff have never had to turn anyone away. “We may be without dry cat or dog food for a couple of days, but we still have wet food so no one leaves here empty-handed.”
To finance his project, Hassall also organizes fundraisers. In the festive period, he organized “Santa” photos, where owners could bring their dogs to have a photograph with Mr. Claus printed and laminated for £5. Although it was a slow start, an hour after opening of the shop, there was a line of puppies outside waiting their turn, with Hassall quickly transferring images from his phone to his laptop to be printed.
It is clear that Hassall is closed to regular customers. “Sometimes I leave here after talking to the owners, especially the older ones who come to ask to re-home their pets, and they are upset. But I can close the door knowing that the dogs are not hungry.”
As part of the work of Blue Cross, they also help pet owners with their veterinary funds but, unlike the food parcels, they are means tested and submitted to the location. Their animal hospitals in London and Grimsby provide cheaper care for sick pets, should qualified owners.
They also provide pet food to other charities and food banks, including Oxford Mutual Aid, which is only a short drive away. The support group was created in the heart of Oxfordshire as a response to the pandemic to provide people across the city with food, but it has continued and expanded and now helps more than 170 families (and 800 people) to eat every month. Included in this is pet food, which coordinator Kate Campbell, 32, says is requested by about a third of callers.
At the site, in a small room in a church building, crates of pet cans, bags of dry food, toiletries, cleaning products and food supplies are labeled and several volunteers pack packages. Taped to a tall tower of green boxes is a piece of paper, covered with the initials of those who need supplies, with any specific requests. The system is designed to preserve anonymity.
Regular volunteer Louise, 62, is semi-retired from her job in health research and now spends two hours a week packing parcels at the church. She says she wanted to “help her community” and does it whenever she can because now she has more free time and it’s only a 15-minute walk from the site.
As the owner of two 12-year-old Siamese cats, he knows how important animals are to people’s mental health, and finds it upsetting when they have to pack pet food in packages. Each package is capped at four cans of wet food or eight containers of dry food for animals, so the center can keep as much stock as possible. Since the center only receives shipments for pet supplies every two weeks, it is important that the staff try to bring the food to as many owners as they can.
The 170 families they provide for each week are the priority, but single parcels are also distributed in Oxford. Unfortunately, Campbell has had to turn people away, and he says that “it’s never nice” to do so, but he adds that they often have supplies in stock. The organization’s budget currently stands at between £200 and £250 a month, but it is mainly spent on toilet rolls and tins, which are the most requested items.
Like Blue Cross, Oxford Mutual Aid relies on the public for donations, but as more people struggle with the cost of living crisis, are decreasing. As she left the centre, two Oxford university students entered with carrier bags of milk and cereal, adding to the donation pile, and Louise began sorting through the items.
I watch as Campbell works on the line, Louise begins to unpack the items, and the students walk away, grateful that places (and people) like this exist, and comforted knowing that some dogs and their owners feel lighter for a few days when they receive their package. .
You can find your nearest Blue Cross pet food bank or donation point here
* the name has been changed
