As part of our partnership with Foreside Business Maine Meet, Finn’s Pet Food Pantry is a new addition to Footprint Food Pantry for cats and dogs and their families in the Kittery and Elliot areas.
A modified version of a service already offered on Footprint, Pet Food Pantry pays tribute to the late Phineus Bacon, a rescue dog owned by Main Meats co-owners and partners Shannon Hill and Jarrod Spangler. is.
In October 2018, rescue dog Phinn was sedated for a procedure to remove a small cancerous growth on his eyelid. After the procedure, he suffered a heart attack while recovering and was unable to revive.
Hill recalls the collective grief felt by the Foreside regulars after Finn’s death, with a handwritten letter from the former commander of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard offering her and Spangler condolences for the loss of “the Mayor of the Foreside.” I sent you a note.
“He belonged to the community,” Hill said of her old dog. He asked me to take him for walks around the neighborhood.He touched the heart and soul of everyone he met and was a perfect example of how important rescue is.”
Megan Shapiro-Ross, executive director of Footprints Food Pantry, said rising prices have led to increased requests for pet food and other pet care items in the pantry.
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Data released in mid-September by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that food spending increased 11.4% over the past year. The surge in grocery bills was the fastest annual increase since May 1979.
“This massive increase is not only pushing many households into an unprecedented new situation of visiting food pantries, it is also impacting the ability of many households to properly care for their pets. said Shapiro Ross.
Founded in 2014, Maine Meat has raised over $20,000 in support of local animal organizations since 2019 with its annual donation campaign called “For the Love of Phinn.”
“The one year anniversary of Finn’s death was just as distraught and upsetting as the day he died suddenly,” Hill said. “I could never have imagined repeating that horrible day over and over again. I wanted to do something to honor the love that he and our community had for him.
Footprint already provided pet food and was always asking for donations to maintain that supply. According to Shapiro-Ross, Hill approached her about donating her Maine Meat’s annual fundraiser to her Footprints to boost current and future pet food supplies, and the idea was hers. has snowballed into Phinn’s Pet Food Pantry.
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This year’s check cuts for Footprint to launch a revamped pet food pantry totaled over $6,000 after Main Meet ran an online donation campaign in late October.
“Finn’s legacy and his impact on the community will live on if we can keep pets at home by reducing the financial burden of pet food,” Hill said. “This is all.”
The Pet Food Pantry will be open on normal shopping days at Footprints Food Pantry. According to Shapiro-Ross, the current opening hours are 5:30pm to 6:30pm on Tuesday nights and 9:30am to 12:30pm on Wednesdays.