PetSmart Charities Grants Additional $300,000 to Meals on Wheals America to Support Seniors and Their Pets

PetSmart Charities, the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, announced it has granted an incremental $300,000 to Meals on Wheels America, the national leadership organization supporting community-based programs across the U.S. dedicated to addressing senior isolation and hunger. This funding builds upon PetSmart Charities’ record $3 million commitment to Meals on Wheels America in late 2019 to fund the work of a three-year partnership between the two organizations, and comes at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic, and an increasing number of natural disasters, continue to drive a rising demand for Meals on Wheels services for homebound senior clients and their loving pet companions.

“Not only do many seniors consider pets family members, we know many may be relying on their pets now more than ever for critical companionship while self-isolating at home during the pandemic,” said Aimee Gilbreath, President, PetSmart Charities. “We are proud to extend our initial commitment to Meals on Wheels America to help ensure seniors and their cherished animal companions can stay healthy and together through the toughest of times.”

Amid stay-at-home guidance and other health and safety measures in place to protect against Covid-19, millions of older adults are experiencing the impacts of loneliness and diminished social connection. While pet ownership is known to lower instances of illness and reported feelings of loneliness among older adults and is particularly crucial during this challenging time, many face difficulties with procuring groceries, like pet food and supplies, on their own. Through this grant from PetSmart Charities, Meals on Wheels America has already begun to offer grants to local Meals on Wheels programs working to meet an increased demand for their pet-related services and overcome infrastructure challenges in geographic areas that have been particularly affected by Covid-19 and recent natural disasters.

“As so many older adults became homebound practically overnight in the face of the pandemic, they also became shut off from critical social connections,” said Ellie Hollander, President and CEO, Meals on Wheels America. “Meals on Wheels programs have been working around the clock to serve an influx of seniors in need of support throughout the past 10 months, which includes preserving the proven powerful relationships they have with their pets. This generous funding from PetSmart Charities makes that possible.”

PetSmart Charities’ recent grant will also support a pilot, exploratory effort that will enable both organizations to identify and test innovative methods of delivering pet programming to support more seniors and pets across the Meals on Wheels network.

For more information on Meals on Wheels America, click here. For more information on PetSmart Charities and how grants are making an impact across North America, click here.