If you’re looking for an easy way to support your local animal shelter, the answer might be in your pantry. With tons of food being wasted every day, including Costco who recently made headlines for planning to throw away $2.6 million worth of peanut butter for being too “oily,” more people are looking for ways to turn waste into aid.
You might not know this, but there are many common foods you can donate to animal shelters. It’s food that’s probably sitting in your fridge right now about to be thrown away. Here’s a list of food most frequently requested by shelters, according to the Animal Humane Society.
1. Peanut Butter
Anyone who has ever filled up a Kong with peanut butter knows how important this staple is for pet owners, and shelters can’t get enough of it.
Disclaimer: When buying or donating peanut butter, make sure it doesn’t have this food additive in it.
2. Cheese singles
This might come as a surprise for some, but many shelters use cheese singles as quick snacks for dogs, and the pups looove them. If you have a few uneaten packages in your fridge, do yourself a favor and donate them to a hungry dog.
3. Meat-based baby food
Those unopened cans of baby food would make a shelter dog pretty happy. Shelters like to mix this up with dry food. They’re always in demand.
[bp_related_article]
4. Canned Tuna
This item is more for cats than dogs, but hey, we don’t mind lending a paw to our feline friends (for now).
5. Hot Dogs
Shelters like to cut these up and use them as treats. Several packs of hot dogs can go a long way for a shelter.
6. Fresh veggies
With dogs eating lots of dry and canned food, this item might come as a surprise. But munchable veggies like carrots are great for dogs. But be cautious, other vegetables like onions are toxic to dogs. Do your research first before showing up to the shelter with that box of avocados!