The Animal Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley (AFBLV), the region’s only stand-alone pet food bank, plans to move to a larger facility in Allentown in March. This relocation from their current facility in Emmaus will allow the 20-year-old nonprofit to better serve its growing client base.
Approximately 1 in 10 Lehigh Valley residents currently faces food insecurity. While more than 89% of Lehigh Valley residents live above the federal poverty line, nearly 47% of households struggle to afford essential items like pet food, making it one of the first necessities to be cut from a tight budget.
According to the ASPCA, providing assistance to keep a pet in a loving home costs the community far less than one day of care in a municipal shelter, which averages $25-$40 dollars a day per animal. The AFBLV’s model provides pet owners with a full month of food at a lower cost.
Additionally, the Best Friends Animal Society found that human-related factors like housing and financial struggles lead animal-related struggles in reasons for pet surrender by 3 to 1. AFBLV currently feeds around 3,000 pets every month, keeping local shelters clear for animals in the greatest need. They expect that that number to grow, as there has been no month during recent operations that the AFBLV has not onboarded new clients.
Amy Kocis, Executive Director of AFBLV, expressed a hope that their move to a more central location will help them keep any pet in the region from going hungry or being surrendered due to financial hardship.
All pet food distributions will continue as scheduled for January and February at the organization’s Emmaus location. Operations at the new facility at 417 N. 14th Street in Allentown will begin in March.
More information can be found at afblv.com.
