At WesleyLife Meals on Wheels, we’ve always believed in delivering more than just a meal. While our hot, nutritious lunches nourish older adults and military veterans in need across the Des Moines metro, our mission goes beyond food, extending to connection and compassion.
And for many of our clients, that compassion extends to a deeply important part of their lives: their pets.
AniMeals - and a special delivery
Every Wednesday, thanks to our AniMeals program, Meals on Wheels drivers provide their clients not only with lunch, but with quality pet food for those clients' animal companions. Through a partnership with The Pet Project Midwest, a local pet food pantry, we help ensure pets stay with the humans who love them.
This week’s AniMeals deliveries included some special guests. Drake University’s live mascot, Griff II, and his human, Erin Bell, shown at left, joined our Meals on Wheels team to deliver both human and pet meals — and to raise awareness for Griff Gives Back, their annual drive to collect pet food for Pet Project Midwest.
“This is the 10th year of the Griff Gives Back pet food drive, and in that time, we’ve collected more than 150,000 pounds of food to benefit animal companions across the Des Moines area," Erin said.
The goal this year? An incredible 20,000 pounds of pet food — all of which will help pet owners with limited resources keep their pets nourished and healthy.
“Pet Project Midwest benefits people greatly,” Erin said. “When someone with limited resources has to choose between feeding themselves or feeding their pet, they often sacrifice their own nutrition. Donations help bridge that gap, supporting both pets and the people who love them.”
"There were times I didn't eat so they could"
That gap is one that some WesleyLife Meals on Wheels clients know all too well. Brandy, a Des Moines resident shown in the photo at left, shares her home with three cats that provide her with companionship, emotional support, and daily doses of joy during trying times. Brandy said without AniMeals, she likely would be unable to keep her pets.
"There were times I didn’t eat so they could,” Brandy said. “This pet food is very important to me and makes all the difference. I don’t know what I would do without it.”
Tawnya Fields, Meals on Wheels volunteer coordinator, said many clients with pets face some sort of barriers to caring properly for them; in addition to a lack of financial resources, many lack transportation. Because Meals on Wheels drivers and volunteers are specially trained to recognize challenges a client might be experiencing, they are able to alert Meals on Wheels leaders that a client is in need of pet support.
"This is another area where our slogan 'more than a meal' really resonates," Tawnya said. "We are here to support the holistic well-being of our clients, and for many of them, nurturing a relationship with a pet is vitally important."
Learn more!
Take a moment to view this WHO-TV 13 video of Griff's AniMeals deliveries.
Want to help?
WesleyLife Meals on Wheels' AniMeals program is sustained by generous donors; ensuring vulnerable companion animals have enough to eat costs more than $14,000 a year, and your support would make an impact daily. A gift of only $11 provides a meal for a food-insecure older adult and their pet. Learn more and donate safely and easily here.
