Client Stories – Angela and Claire

“Claire is a hound who loves people!” Angela laughs, as she describes Claire’s antics. “She yodels at everyone she meets and loves to point at squirrels!” Claire lost her home when her former owner passed away and no provisions were made for her. Angela came to the rescue by taking Claire into her heart and her home.

“She always knows my moods and is extremely sensitive to when I need her. She is everything to me.” But, Angela laments, “With the economy today it is very expensive for dog food. Claire is a 100 pound Black Labrador/Pointer mix and she eats a lot!”

Angela adds, “Colorado Pet Pantry is a life saver! They supplement Claire’s food and save me money for other bills. Without Pet Pantry, I would be forced to feed Claire cheap dog food or even people food, which isn’t good for her.”

Colorado Pet Pantry returns Claire’s joyful yodel in our appreciation for dedicated pet owners like Angela and promise to keep helping these two in the future.


Impact Report – 2023


Client Stories – Robert and Kloe

Robert and Kloe are “two peas in a pod.” They’re never apart. Kloe is Robert’s Service Companion and “his best friend, his lifeline.”

Robert had a stroke at the young age of 23, which caused partial paralysis, amongst other health issues. He has lived in nursing homes and been involved in treatment facilities since his stroke, 25 years ago. A few years ago, his social worker and case manager at one of his homes set him up with Volunteers of America (VOA).

Living in a VOA apartment complex gives him the opportunity to live self-sufficiently, and the ability to have a service companion, Kloe.

VOA is one of Colorado Pet Pantry’s Mini Pet Food Banks. These are organizations or remote locations that receive pet food from us to distribute directly to their clients. This is how Robert receives pet food to help feed Kloe. He receives very limited Social Security benefits, and for the most part, dog food is not in his budget.

He is extremely grateful to Colorado Pet Pantry for the donations that Kloe and the other pets at VOA receive. “If I didn’t receive pet food from you guys, Kloe would be eating table scraps, like she used to eat,” Robert shares. Colorado Pet Pantry currently serves 74 Mini Pet Food Banks across Colorado.

We partner with organizations that support low-income families, elderly, homeless, people with disabilities and other groups in-need, to help reach clients and regions we may not otherwise have the resources to access with our monthly pet food banks. In addition to VOA, other organizations we work with include Mercy Housing, Nourish Meals On Wheels, Salvation Army, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, and various Animal Welfare Organizations.


Client Stories – Lisa and Velcro

Lisa adopted sweet Velcro as a kitten. Dirty and alone, she took Velcro in and it was love at first sight. “She’s my joy to celebrate successes, and the door greeter welcoming any and all guests. Every day I thank the Universe for bringing her into my life.”

As Velcro grew up, Lisa learned her little body required a special, very expensive, prescription food to stay healthy. Due to the amazing donations by our generous pet food donors, Colorado Pet Pantry typically has this type of food on-hand. “It is very expensive but necessary to prevent her from getting sick. I can’t thank Colorado Pet Pantry enough for providing this cat food in a time when affording rent has become very overwhelming. Basic necessities are a struggle, and I am honestly not sure what I would have done to provide Velcro with her prescription food.”

Colorado Pet Pantry is a supplemental pet food assistance program. Offering pet food to our clients every other month enables us to lift a huge financial burden that furry friends can have on a monthly budget.

In 2022, Colorado Pet Pantry provided almost seven million meals to families across Colorado. It is our honor to be able to offer this service to so many community members.


Client Stories: Dawn, Brave, Zeke & Kalos

“Sometimes the most overlooked family members during any divorce can be people’s pets.”

In April 2022, Dawn and her family had 2 dogs, 2 cats, 3 goats and 28 chickens. Due to financial stress from a divorce, Dawn could no longer afford to care for all of her animals. She had to make the heartbreaking decision to re-home her goats, chickens and one of her house cats. Dawn learned about Colorado Pet Pantry’s SECOR pet food bank in Parker, Colorado, in August of 2022. With the help of our pet food assistance program, Dawn and her son, Levi, have been able to keep and care for their cat, Brave, and their retired livestock guardian dogs, Zeke and Kalos.

“My son and I are both thrilled that we have been able to continue to love and enjoy our remaining animals. They are thriving on the generous donations from Colorado Pet Pantry. I’m so grateful for every bag and can of food that the Pet Pantry has provided. Though we are uncertain of the future, we are grateful to be able to do life with our furry family members. Kalos alerts me when my blood sugar is low, and, Zeke and Brave can tell when we need a bit of comfort. I’m grateful that with the help of Colorado Pet Pantry, I’ve been able to keep my dogs and my sweet cat Brave, after losing my goats.”

Pets need every chance possible to stay in their forever homes with the humans who love them. Our goal at Colorado Pet Pantry, is to keep pets with their families. With the help of our supporters, we provide supplemental pet food assistance to cover the gap when housing costs, inflation, medical expenses, vet care, job loss, underemployment, or divorce, chip away at the resources people need to feed their pets.


Volunteer Krystal Parish Receives Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award

Congratulations to our outstanding volunteer, Krystal Parish, for receiving the July 2023 Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award for her dedication and energy that she brings to Colorado Pet Pantry. This award celebrates volunteers in our community who make a difference, and recipients receive a $2,000 grant, to donate to the nonprofit of their choice. Thanks to Krystal and MYCVA, this grant will provide 400 dogs and cats with a 30-day supply of pet food.

Krystal has been a volunteer with Colorado Pet Pantry for over six years, and during this time, she has contributed significantly to our organization. Not only does she help fill “normal” CPP needs, like helping to distribute pet food at monthly pet food banks and transporting pet food, she regularly goes above and beyond to seek out fundraising opportunities and other ways to help the organization grow and continue to meet the rising need in the community.

Krystal is the main driving force behind our auction fundraisers and has contributed in making them very successful. She solicits and secures a large portion of the donated items that we put in our auctions and donates endless hours toward organizing and creating packages and gift baskets. She even works side gigs, like guest bartending at events and helping to bottle bourbon at a local distillery, in exchange for auctions items. She has proposed and executed many new and innovative ways to help us raise funds to feed pets.

Krystal volunteers monthly at our pet food bank in Conifer, with Mountain Resource Center. She participates in outreach events, and hauls truckloads of pet food to our pet food banks. Krystal also runs a mini pet food bank at her place of work – IKEA. Thanks to Krystal, Denver IKEA employees have their own spot to grab pet food and supplies when times are tight. She also creates and runs workplace fundraisers, like recycling cans, giving IKEA employees an easy and free way to help raise funds for Colorado Pet Pantry.

Krystal is quick to respond to any needs that pop up. When the East Troublesome Wildfire occurred in Grand County in 2020, she ran the emergency response and distributed pet food and supplies to those who lost or were displaced from their homes.

At the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award ceremony at our warehouse in Englewood on July 5th, members of the MYCVA Committee, Colorado Pet Pantry team members, and Krystal’s family, celebrated Krystal and her hard work and dedication to Colorado Pet Pantry. MYCVA Committee members shared the history and significance of the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award and talked about Krystal’s contributions and dedication to Colorado Pet Pantry, and presented Krystal with the grant for $2,000 donated to Colorado Pet Pantry, a Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award Plaque, and a Proclamation from Denver Mayor Michael Hancock’s office.

To learn more about the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer award, please visit https://www.sparkthechangecolorado.org/mycva.html.


Keeping Families Together in 2022

“All I want for 2023 is to stay with my family.”

The statistics are in for last year and they are impressive. Thanks to our amazing volunteers, donors, and community supporters, we have been able to make real change in Colorado.

In the last year we…

Distributed a 30-day supply of pet food to 115,482 dogs and cats across Colorado.

Fed 1,307,876 pounds of dry food to pets.

Distributed 213,860 cans of wet food to dogs and cats.

We enabled 35,889 families to greatly reduce their monthly pet food bill, enabling them to keep their pets at home with them and out of the overcrowded shelters.

We distributed 6.93 Million meals to pets across the state.

This sounds like a job well done, and there is no way we could have filled this need without those who surround us and make it all possible.

So thank YOU.


Word of Thanks – Next with Kyle Clark

When times are hard for humans, they’re inevitably hard for pets. Right now is one of those times. With inflation soaring and bonus SNAP benefits having ended in February, food banks across the country are seeing a huge uptick in need. At our pet food banks, we have seen at least a 15% increase in new clients across the state, and even more than that in some locations.

With pet food being so expensive, local shelters and rescues are seeing more relinquished pets than ever. This caught the eye and ear of local celebrity news anchor and recent adoptive pet parent, Kyle Clark. Kyle featured Colorado Pet Pantry as his Word of Thanks charity this week, May 10-16th, 2023.

By featuring Colorado Pet Pantry, Kyle was able to show many pet owners that there are resources available to those who have fallen on hard times, but do not want to lose their pets. 

This is why we are here. With 28 open-to-the-public pet food banks across the state, we are able to take a $5 donation and turn it into a 30-day supply of pet food for a dog or cat. 

So far, thanks to the Word of Thanks micro-giving campaign, we have received over $68,000 toward our $75,000 goal. If we reach $75,000, it will enable us to feed 15,000 dogs and cats across Colorado, and allow us to meet the rising need we are seeing at a time when it is so important to do so. We hope you will consider donating to this campaign to help us reach this goal.

Thank you Kyle Clark for featuring us as your Word of Thanks recipient for May 10th, 2023. Here is the original article that can be found on 9news.com:

Colorado Pet Pantry is a statewide resource that was founded in 2013 to help pets and their people.

Food banks love to add pet food from Colorado Pet Pantry because it’s one-stop shopping for families. All the pet food is donated. Then, the non-profit’s hundreds of volunteers and a few staff make sure it gets distributed across the state.

The pantry says it donated close to 7 million meals last year, which fed 115,000 dogs and cats. The demand has gone up every year since the non-profit got its start.

They’re noticing increased need lately because of inflation, and with food stamp benefits being cut in February.

That’s why our micro-giving campaign, Word of Thanks, is supporting Colorado Pet Pantry this week.

Their largest pet food banks are in rural Colorado, where shelters are full and the need is great. It’s more expensive to transport the food there, but Colorado Pet Pantry is determined to reach every corner of the state.

With our help, they can do that. Like every week since Kyle started Word of Thanks, we’re asking you to consider a $5 donation. He’ll match the first fifty of those, and Colorado Pet Pantry says they can feed a dog or a cat for a month on five bucks.

That $5 could be the difference between a family being able to keep a pet at home or having to give them up.

Word of Thanks began in 2020, and this Next community has donated $10.7 million to non-profits across the state doing great work.

As always, thank you!

If you’re interested in giving, you can donate here.


Client Stories: Tori and Kupka

Sweet Kupka is a 15 year old kitty from Boulder and his human, Tori, visits the EFAA Pet Food Bank. Like many older cats, Kupka requires a substantial amount of wet food in order to thrive. Tori is on Social Security and a very tight budget. She shares, “We are grateful that Colorado Pet Pantry is able to help us through the generosity of their supporters.”

In 2022, Colorado Pet Pantry distributed over 213,000 cans of wet food across the entire state of Colorado. Through the generosity of its donors, Colorado Pet Pantry has been able to ensure many cats like Kupka get the nutrition they need in order to stay healthy and happy. If you would like to make a donation visit coloradopetpantry.org/donate today.


Stories – Christa and Bentley

In October 2021, Christa acquired her special friend and companion, Bentley. She refers to him as a cuddle bug but he is so much more than that, because Christa also has Diabetes. “I wouldn’t trade him for the world,” Christa shares, “He lets me know when my blood sugar is out of control, wakes me up when my breathing stops, and even acted strangely before I had a tachycardia episode. He can make me smile on days when depression is bad. He brightens every day.”

As a medical assistance dog, Bentley is the BEST. Christa literally cannot live without this boy. “The expense of training and keeping a dog healthy is challenging. The Colorado Pet Pantry helps immensely,” Christa says.

Christa joins us every other month at our Grand Junction pet food bank on the Western Slope of Colorado where she is able to get Bentley the pet food he needs to thrive.

In December, 2020, Colorado Pet Pantry finally crossed the Continental Divide and opened the Grand Junction/Clifton pet food bank. Over the past couple years, this has turned into one of our busiest locations. On an average month, we distribute 4,600 lbs of dry pet food to 155 families, helping them keep their 485 pets in their loving homes and out of shelters.

We would not be able to do this every single month if it weren’t for our amazing supporters. We are working hard to grow our network of supporters, volunteers and donors on the Western Slope. You can help support our operations on the Western Slope (or anywhere in Colorado) by donating funds, pet food, or time. Together we can assist all the Bentley’s in Colorado, to be sure they have the ability to stay in their homes with their loving humans forever.


From Donation to Distribution – Your Gift Matters

There are a lot of moving pieces to Colorado Pet Pantry. All branches of our organization must work together to bring each pet food donation into the food bowls where it’s needed most.

Here, we would like to show you the real impact of your support — from your donation to our pet food distribution, your gift keeps families together. 

Meet Bill. Bill, his dog, and two cats, join us from one of our busiest pet food banks in Southern Colorado (check out the video of the patient and extensive line from Dec 2022 at this Trinidad, CO pet food bank). He shares about what our program means to his family. “Grateful doesn’t cover the work your volunteers do. We lost our home in Texas after a tornado. Then we lost our income due to COVID. We had the opportunity to move to Colorado and help provide care for our elderly family.”

Bill began using utilizing the pet food assistance program in August, 2022. The pet food bank itself started in May of 2021. Reaching this community required all the moving pieces of Colorado Pet Pantry to work seamlessly together. Partnerships were developed with the human food bank, Care and Share of Southern ColoradoThe Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the City Shelter in Trinidad, Noah’s Ark Animal Welfare Association. By partnering with human food banks, and planning our pet food banks along side their distribution days, we are able to quickly reach our target clientele. This makes it easy for those who need pet food assistance to receive food without adding an extra stops to their day. 

The task of bringing over 5,000 pounds of pet food each month to Trinidad and efficiently distributing it to 200 families takes a lot of coordination and funds. It begins with our pet food donations at the Colorado Pet Pantry Warehouse. The food is then sorted by staff and volunteers, loaded onto pallets and coordinated into pickups by a large box truck. We purchase the required fuel, schedule the deliveries (we ship to several locations in Southern Colorado), gather many passionate Colorado Pet Pantry volunteers (we always need more help in Trinidad), and make the magic happen. We anticipate this pet food bank, as well as all our other locations to continue to grow as we head into the future. Because of this, we need your help.

Your gift of $5, $50, or $500 will make a huge difference to the pets who are able to stay with their humans through these tough times. 

“The help with pet food has been a blessing,” Bill says, “These are the pets who benefit from your kindness.”


Join us for GivingTuesday and Colorado Gives Day

As we celebrate GivingTuesday today, and with Colorado Gives Day just one week away, we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight just a few examples of the impact that YOUR support has made in our community this past year.

Your donations and volunteer hours have directly helped thousands of Colorado Pet Pantry clients this year. Including Bradley who sent us this message: “I had recently fallen upon hard times and was desperate to feed my service dog who had just finished her last scoop of kibble. I suffer from post traumatic stress disorder and and I was unemployed at the time with absolutely no resources. I sent one email and immediately received a call back and was given the most sincere help and attention. Talk about a lifesaver. Quite literally. The day after I received the food,  I had a heart attack. I was unable to be at home with my service dog and thankfully I had enough food that the neighbor could feed her while I was recovering in the Intensive Care unit at the hospital. Thank you so very much for your wonderful team and volunteers.”

Your response to our call for help during times of crisis have been overwhelming. On the morning of December 30, 2021 when the Marshall Fire started, thousands of Boulder County residents were forced out of their homes so quickly that they were lucky if they were able to save their pets– very few had time to gather pet food or supplies. You came through with flying colors when we made the request for pet beds. Not only did we receive over 1000 pet beds and other supplies to give out during the two weeks that we had a table set up at the Disaster Assistance Center, but many of you volunteered your time, transportation and other resources to help our fellow community members take care of their fur babies during this extremely tough time. Liz (pictured) and her children lost their home in the fire, and Liz’s mother lost her home as well. The donations and support that you gave to help Liz take care of her two dogs after this tragedy and loss gave her one less worry and put that smile on her face.

You have helped us to expand and support our more rural Colorado communities that are experiencing a significant increase in need. We are now in 31 counties, thanks to your continual support, and we’ve found the need is exceptionally high in the more rural parts of our state. Trinidad, Swansea, Grand Junction, and Pueblo areas have also all experienced a significant increase in need. Most families have three pets, so it costs $15/month for us to help support a whole family that wants to stay together. Your support is helping to make this achievable for these families.

It’s been a hard year for many– clients and donors alike, but even a small donation on this GivingTuesday can make a lasting impact. We’d be so grateful for anything you are able to give.

To make your donation go even further, we’d love it if you’d donate to Colorado Pet Pantry through Colorado Gives Day. All donations placed here through midnight on December 6th will be partially matched.

And while we have your eyes, please take just one minute to nominate us for this $5000 award from SCHEELS. TODAY (Tuesday, November 29) IS THE LAST DAY TO VOTE. This award would be a HUGE win for us on Colorado Gives Day

Join millions of others around the world today in giving back, spreading kindness and showing how together we can make a difference in our own communities. Your support is what makes all of this possible and we are so grateful.


Pantry volunteer helping families keep their pets

Originally posted here

DENVER – Food bank lines are always long, but the one at Focus Points Family Resource Center in Denver’s Swansea neighborhood is often extra long. The reason? A partnership with Colorado Pet Pantry, the largest pet food bank in metro Denver.

The food is provided by the Colorado Pet Pantry, the largest organization of its kind in the U.S. Every month, volunteers help distribute pet food at 105 food banks in 29 different Colorado counties. Founder Eileen Lambert says the Pantry’s mission is simply to help families who might not otherwise be able afford to keep their pets.

“Maybe rent just increased, which we know is a big deal. Gas prices. Our goal is just to help them over the hump so that they can keep this animal that they’ve probably had for 12 years,” Lambert explains

Lori Henley volunteers for Colorado Pet Pantry at four or five food banks a month – often after picking up many of the donations from pet stores in the area.

She says a lack of food shouldn’t be the reason anyone gives up a pet.

“I feel real empathy, I guess, for their plight,” she says. “It could be us. You never know. But you know, it could be us.”

Fellow volunteers say they see Lori at nearly every Colorado Pet Pantry event they go to. They say her willingness to help, and her knowledge of animal care, are invaluable, making her the perfect person to be a Denver7 Everyday Hero.


Record Breaking Pet Food Banks Continue in Southeastern Colorado

The line consistently long at our June 2022 Alamosa Pet Food Bank in partnership with La Puente’s Food Bank

Sometimes the line is never ending. This has been the story of our Southeastern Colorado Pet Food Banks. In the last week of June we distributed over 16,000 lbs of dry pet food to families in need in Trinidad, Cañon City, Alamosa and Pueblo. The need has been skyrocketing and doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon. We often feel the need for pet food decrease in the summer, but not this year. So many hardships are affecting our communities today, and we are doing our best to be there for them. We are only able to be there because of our amazing volunteers and supporters, but the supply chain is affecting us and the amount of donations we receive. Pet food brands are making less food each year after 2+ years of having fewer operational factories. Add to this inflation and general unease, and we find ourselves asking for more help.


What can you do to help?

  • VOLUNTEERS: We need a lot more volunteers in these areas. Especially Trinidad and Alamosa. If you know someone or would like to volunteer, please sign up HERE.
  • PET FOOD DRIVES: Donations are down and we are struggling to keep up with the rising need. We recently lowered our food distributions per family at our pet food banks, and even after capping the food amounts we have only seen the totals rise. We are now looking to our supporters to help their communities by hosting pet food drives. You can host a physical pet food drive or a virtual one. Click HERE to learn more about how.
  • DONATIONS: Running a pet food bank has many associated costs. Storage, staff, gas, and shipping costs have all gone up in the last couple of years. But these are expenses that are vital to our organization. Donating to us through our website, HERE, is an easy way to give. And thanks to our pet food partnerships, just donating $5 can feed a dog or cat for an entire month.

Leo & Gracie Make Change in Their Community

Inspired by a recent reading of Where the Red Fern Grows, in which the main character saves change in a can in order to purchase two puppies, Leo, a local 10-year-old boy had a vision to collect change in a can to support animals in need. He brought the idea to his sister, 8-year-old Gracie, and together they laid out a plan to launch their first “business” called Funds for Furry Friends.

They started by designing a flyer, with Leo writing the text and Gracie drawing the visual. From there, they took to the streets of their neighborhood—going door to door to kick off their donation campaign. While their goal was originally to collect change—inspired by their cause and initiative, many community members choose to donate in larger sums.

Through their focus and follow through, within just a few days, Leo and Gracie had collected $85 in donations, which will help Colorado Pet Pantry feed 17 pets in need for a full month.

Thank you to Leo and Gracie for your entrepreneurial leadership in service of animals in need—and everyone in their Louisville neighborhood who supported their truly grassroots effort!