Petland Charities donates $10K of private label dog food to Ohio food pantry

Petland Charities is working with an Ohio food pantry to provide dog food for pets belonging to families in need. The partnership with Athens County Food Pantry will see Chillicothe, Ohio-based Petland donating $10,000 worth of its private label Heartland Naturals dog food in monthly deliveries to the organization. 

Beginning Jan. 24, Petland will deliver 55 of its 12-lb bags of food every month for the next six months, with plans to evaluate the partnership at the end of that period. The first delivery also will include six cases of canned cat food.  

"Our board has been aware of the need for pet food,” said Athens County Food Pantry president Karin Bright. “Our clients have asked about such availability over the years but have not been able to provide that assistance due to financial constraints. We are thrilled to be able to help low-income families feed their pets." 

The food pantry recently was cast into the spotlight by Athens native Joe Burrow, who won this year’s Heisman trophy for his performance as Louisiana State University’s quarterback and shouted out the organization in his acceptance speech. 

"Coming from Southeast Ohio, it's a very impoverished area," Burrow said. "The poverty rate is almost two times the national average, and there's so many people there that don't have a lot. I'm up here for all those kids in Athens and in Athens County that go home to not a lot of food on the table, hungry after school. And you guys can be up here, too."

Petland reached out following a successful fundraising effort started by Athens resident Will Drabold that raised more than $500,000 for the food pantry in roughly one month. 

"We are so grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Athens County Food Pantry,” said Petland charities executive director Steve Huggins. “We have a lot of colleagues, friends, families and customers in Athens, and we are excited to be able to help make a small difference in addressing the hunger needs of the county.”