A woman and her two kids, six and two years old, came to one of our partner food banks, Denver Inner City Parish, in 2014. While she was getting food for her family, she was relieved to learn that the Colorado Pet Pantry pet food bank was also there that day to help with pet food. She’s had her 10-year old female Shar Pei, Mocha, since she was a puppy. But when they moved from Florida to Colorado in hopes of finding a better job, the family was left with even less support and now teeters on the edge of not being able to feed the furry family member. It had been three days since Mocha had a solid meal. But mom couldn’t imagine giving her up and didn’t want to contemplate what that loss would do to her children.

“I’m barely feeding my children, it’s nearly impossible to feed the dog,” she said.

That day, she left the food bank with food for her family and Mocha, and she knows that we’ll be there, in the same spot once a month so she and her family will be able to stay together even when times are tight.