"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
-Mohandas Ghandi

Today was the opening of the Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank in Portland, OR. I was honored to volunteer and be a part of this brilliant charity. Larry started out delivering food to pets of the homeless and transient people in the area and has now opened this food bank which will help to keep families (including the furry members) together.

The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank provides high quality pet food to dogs and cats. Anyone who is in honest need can come by and pick up two weeks worth of wet and/or dry food for their pets. I encourage everyone to take a moment to read about the Pongo Fund's mission and to spread the word to anyone you may know who is in need or wants to help.

Here is some information from their website:

Since 2007, The Pongo Fund has provided more than 100,000 quality meals to animals living in Portland’s homeless, transitional and underprivileged communities.

But the hungry pets of the homeless are being joined more and more by the hungry pets of people who simply are having trouble making ends meet…middle-class folks pummeled by the economy, white-collar workers recently laid off; even seniors and students are not immune. And when families must choose what to cut from their grocery lists, pets often are among those that suffer most.

For families that can’t afford to feed their pets, the consequences are greater than just
an empty stomach. Many pets will be surrendered to already overburdened shelters, many more will be abandoned. Finding new homes for these pets are never guaranteed. Families will be torn apart, simply because there’s not enough money to buy pet food.

The pain touches every single family, regardless of where they call home. And during these challenging times, that could be any one of us. The Pongo Fund wants to help protect these animals from being abandoned or surrendered when their families cannot afford to feed them.

That’s why we’ve created The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank; Portland’s first dedicated pet food charitable resource. It’s a genuine gift for the entire community…lending a hand when times are tough by providing quality dog and cat food for the companion pets of anyone in need.

Because sometimes, a simple bowl of kibble is the force that keeps a family together and saves the lives of the animals they love.