Our Story

Nine years ago, I watched a news story about families receiving our community’s tradition of a Thanksgiving holiday blessing – turkey and all the trimmings to celebrate the holiday with a warm home-cooked meal. The news media designated these families as food insecure, which perhaps is more politically correct, but in fact these families are hungry. Without the support of area food banks, many would not have food on a regular basis, let alone the holidays. And if humans are hungry, you can be sure their pets are too.

This sparked the idea for our Pounds for Pets program. If we could provide pet food for distribution at area food banks, we could bridge the gap between families being able to keep their pets and not having to rehome or surrender them to the local animal shelter. Our pet parents, and the Dog Tired Parent Association, enthusiastically embraced the challenge.

We decided the most reliable method was a holiday fundraiser, the proceeds of which would be used to purchase a consistent supply of healthy pet food throughout the winter months. As we told our wholesale suppliers about the project, they also made a commitment to help, giving additional food as their own contribution.

On November 18, 2011, we made our first delivery, taking 708 pounds of dog and cat food to the Spenard Food Pantry run by Lutheran Social Services Alaska (LSSA). I was able to meet the staff who work so hard to help these folks in need, and was overcome by their dedication and kindness. LSSA’s transitional living program also provides pantry volunteers who are reentering a new life after incarceration. For those volunteers our donors provided an example of the kindness that still exists in our community.

Two of these volunteers helped me unload my car. As we worked outside in the cold, an elderly woman parked outside the main door. She stepped out of her car with a beautiful blue nose pit bull. He was so handsome and friendly. The volunteers told me she was a regular, and often would give her food portions to her dog before feeding herself. By the time we were done unloading, another volunteer was helping the elderly woman back to her car. “Would you like to take a bag of dog food too?” The volunteer put a 30 lb bag of food in her car. The woman’s face lit up as she said to her dog “We’re going to have the best Thanksgiving this year!” I wept all the way home. What a blessing for me to see the fruit of our clients’ generosity firsthand.

Since that first delivery, we have provided tens of thousands of pounds of food to hungry pets. We’ve delivered to area food pantries, the senior center, the Meals on Wheels program, and the Alaska SPCA pet food bank. Your generosity is helping not only pets who are hungry, but families who need their pets love during hard times.

On December 31, 2018, we created The Normandy Project as a nonprofit charity to take this program to its next phase of growth. We invite you to join our efforts.