The Humane Society Yukon is helping provide free dog and cat food to anyone who needs it.

For over a year, the animal shelter in Whitehorse has been running a program that provides free pet food to people 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with no forms to fill out and no requirements to meet. A simple filing cabinet outside the facility stocks donated and repackaged dog and cat food for the public. Kennel manager Tess Hardy says the food is free for anyone who cannot afford to buy it.

Staff at Humane Society Yukon said they were receiving many donations from people whose dogs no longer liked certain types of food. Since the food was not suitable for the animals in their care, they began placing it outside for the public to take and quickly noticed that people were picking it up. That’s when they realized there was a real need for free pet food in Whitehorse and decided to continue the program. While pet food is available at the local food bank, it is only offered once a month.

This program is different because it is always open, allowing people to take as much or as little as they need whenever they need it, and staff make sure it stays stocked. After the program’s success in Whitehorse, the Humane Society is looking to expand it to every community across the Yukon.

Source: TJ Dhir, CBC