A regional South Australian welfare agency is providing dog food relief for struggling families as the cost of living continues to bite.
Key points:
- Families are giving up family pets because they cannot afford to keep them, says the Red Cross
- The Mount Gambier branch is running of out supply as families struggle to pay for essentials
- The charity organisation says it is seeing more “working poor” who can’t make ends meet
Australian Red Cross Limestone Coast has expanded its humanitarian program to provide pet food as families struggle to find the money for their pet dogs.
“We’re currently running out several humanitarian-based programs aimed at easing the cost of living pressures on local, vulnerable community members,” Red Cross Limestone Coast regional services manager David Walshaw said.
He said one of the organisation’s most successful programs had been the breakfast cereal and feminine hygiene programs.
“But more recently, we’ve discovered that if people are doing it tough, perhaps their animals are doing it a bit tough too,” he said.
“We’ve had an approach from the animal rescue cooperative outreach service, who have donated a significant number of bags of dog food for us.”
Mr Walshaw said they had recorded a significant uptake.
“We’ve had a great response from the community from people coming in and taking bags of dog food to make sure their pets are supported during this difficult time as well.
Breaky cereal flying off the shelves
Mr Walshaw said the Red Cross recognised the cost of living increases were affecting everyone.
He said the economic climate was impacting on society’s most vulnerable.
“Anything we can do to reduce their weekly spend is obviously going to be a benefit to them,” he said.
He said product was running out quickly, particularly breakfast cereal lines.
“And we’ve got logistical problems at the moment with transport from the eastern states that are bringing that product over to us.
“And I’m sure that product will go out of our office as soon as it comes in as well.”
New customers ‘the working poor’
Mr Walshaw said the cost of living was impacting everyone.
“With the recent interest rate rises, obviously, you’re going to compound that issue further,” he said.
He said the traditional cohort of vulnerable people needing humanitarian services was shifting.
“They’re still out in our community and requiring services, but what we’re seeing is a change in the cohort of people who are coming to our door,” Mr Walshaw said.
“It’s been described as the working poor — both family members are working, but they just don’t have enough money to make ends meet all the time, when they take into account utility bills and rents and other cost of living expenses.
“We’re seeing these people now coming to our door to get services that we traditionally have not provided to them in the past.”
He said people were “beating a path to the door” for foodstuffs, shampoo, conditioner, underwear and all sorts of consumables advertised on the organisation’s Facebook page.
“If people come experiencing vulnerability, we will support them to the best we can with the product that we have available at the time.”
Mr Walshaw said the Mount Gambier branch recently received two large pallets of breakfast cereal.
“This went in less than two months, and there was probably around 250 boxes or more of breakfast cereal that just went very quickly,” he said.
“Our feminine hygiene products are constantly in demand because of the higher cost of those in the community.
“We really do require people just to come in and grab that stuff where they can — it doesn’t last long.”
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