Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

This past weekend was our first delivery to seven local food distros. We sent five small bags of dry cat food and five small bags of dry dog food to each disto – 70 bags total.

Based on preliminary feedback, Braddock will need an additional 10 bags each month. Each distro is collecting information on the needs for items like leashes, carriers, toys, etc. And we did send each distro a display/storage box for whistle kits plus actual whistle kits.

Update –> South Side distro just asked to join.

We also began our May distributions for our 130 caretakers.

• Three of our volunteers deliver to the Northside, one also goes up to Wilkinsburg and Homewood. They cover 43 households between them.
• Hill Top neighborhoods – Carrick, Mt. Oliver, Beltzhoover represent about 15% of our caretakers.
• Carnegie, Coraopolis, Moon, and South Park are a smaller but significant route.
• The final route is the West End/West Suburbs “West Side” of McKees Rocks, Sheraden, Esplanade. He covers 23 households.
• 24 households are outside of our delivery zones (want to volunteer?) so we ship to them twice a year if funds allow.

The Math

We distribute 1,145 pounds of dry cat and dog food in May. We do not deliver canned food May – Sept.

We had 472.5 pounds of dog food and 925.8 pounds of cat food.1398.3 pounds in our pantry.

That’s about 150 pounds remaining for June.

Since then, we’ve added 203 pounds of donations. We have a donation to pick up tomorrow at Animal Friends. Our friends at Paws Across Pittsburgh send us 120 pounds monthly.

So we’ll need at least 1000 additional pounds of food for June. Or 200 five pounds bags.

We set up a fundraiser on Facebook that has raised $72 thus far. That will cover seven bags of food depending on finding a deal.

So we appeal again to you our friends and neighbors to help us continue this work. We are relentlessly sourcing pet food donations. We have a fundraiser planned for the fall. We have some reserves to buy food if needed. We have six+ volunteers donating their time and gas money to deliver every month.

I feel you – those numbers are mind boggling. Fortunately, our pantry manager Marie has a zillion years in inventory, retail, and related fields so she can do the math in her sleep. I have to use a calculator and count on my fingers.

My priority is to engage our caretakers and appeal to good people like you to help.

The Partnerships

Both Animal Friends and Humane Animal Rescue Pittsburgh offer monthly food distributions at their respective locations. Animal Friends donates to traditional food pantries and does some community distribution. Neither offers delivery. Paws Across Pittsburgh has a pet food pantry. They also have some community based distributions.

Some of our caretakers take advantage of those resources, but not everyone has a vehicle or the ability to get to the designated date/time. They fall between the cracks. Distros are not formal food pantries so they cannot access pet food from Animal Friends Chow Wagon. They also fall between the cracks. We offer a bridge to connect that source of food with neighbors who benefit from it.

We are here to support folx in those cracks. We work with all three groups to get their food to the distros and the caretakers.

We will be sending a volunteer to Paws Across Pittsburgh community distributions to support caretakers who cannot travel. We are finding all sorts of ways to work together and maximize our strengths.

Our caretakers include many working families, also many elders and disabled folx, quite a few veterans, lots of parents, queer and trans folx, many BIPOC neighbors. Our oldest caretaker is 85; she has a small colony and her own pet cats.

Their pets are an important part of their family. Over two-thirds also take care of community cats, an important contribution to their neighborhood.

We also work with families whose status might prevent them from accessing a traditional food pantry or a food distro. In those cases, we’ll provide a full month’s supply of food. We encourage helpers to reach out to us via Signal (@Pghlesbian.24) We have a privacy protocol. Just today the second autoship delivery of dog food for ‘Roman Brady’ arrived at a neutral location where the helper will pick it up. Thanks to donors, we will provide Roman Brady at least six months of dog food – one less thing to stress a family.

Will you help?

You can see we are working hard to fill gaps. We’ve connected with lots of great partners. We are doing the work, but we need help.

• GoFundMe Charities https://www.gofundme.com/f/PghCatFolxPetFoodPantry
• Venmo @PittsburghLGBTQ
• Paypal bit.ly/PayPalPLC 
• CashApp$PittsburghLGBTQ‘=
• Zelle folx@pghlgbtq.org

Checks can be made payable to “Pittsburgh LGBTQ Charities” and mailed to 1439 W. North Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15233

Wishlists

• Amazon bit.ly/TheRuffList
• Chewy bit.ly/TheChewyList

Anything beside food?

• Clean blankets and towels, must be laundered
• Pet “gear” in excellent condition – leashes, collars, carriers, crates, etc. We don’t have capacity to repair things.
• Clean plastic grocery bags are in high-demand to manage litter boxes.
• Dishes and bowls, recently washed and in excellent condition
• We do not accept: cat trees, litter boxes or litter, or comforters/pillows. Please do not leave these items for us to dispose of – that wastes resources.
• Pet beds must be in great condition. Storage is an issue so please call first.

Volunteer

Will you spend a few hours each month delivering food – porch drop, contact less? Can you provide transportation to and from events, pick up pet food donations, deliver items as needed? Want to assemble whistle kits? We can use your help.

Register at bit.ly/PLCVolunteer

Where can I donate actual pet food?

Due to the theft we experienced in January, our donation bins are not available. We have been searching for community partners willing to accept drop off donations. You can reach out to us directly to arrange a drop off. Please do not leave donations unattended as we cannot be sure they will not be pirated.

If your business or organization is willing to accept donations of pet food, please reach out.

In Conclusion

We very much need support. Our numbers continue to grow and probably won’t stop anytime soon. Donating pet food is a tangible way to help neighbors keep their beloved family members and to continue the TNR work necessary to keep communities healthy.

I believe the human-animal relationship is important. Every welfare group around the globe will tell you that keeping pets in their homes is optimum. It is a better use of resources to provide food as needed and other supports than to have animals enter the shelter system.

Caretakers are generous. They help each other out with rides, advice, and trapping. One of our caretakers makes the winter shelters as much as we need. She also assembles whistle kits. Another has a drop trap and expertise to offer. A third organizes mass trappings in nearby communities. Yet another will temporarily shelter our colony cats in need of veterinary care.

Here’s a link with information on current distros in Pittsburgh.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RICE (@rice.pgh)