This is a half fall or a half empty cat and animal shelter story. It depends on how you look at it. From the perspective of the Delta Humane Society it is a half empty story; in fact it is far worse than that – it is devastating.
From my perspective it is very much a half full story because Del Monte Foods have been extremely generous over the past 6 years in providing food for the dogs and cats of the Delta Humane Society.
There are 160 dogs and cats at the shelter and they eat about $325 (US) worth of food daily. That food was provided by Del Monte. The reason why they provided the food is because it was defective in terms of packaging only, meaning the bag was torn or the print on the packaging was not up to scratch but the food was in perfect condition.
Of course, the shelter is devastated because over 6 years they have very much got used to receiving huge amounts of pet food weekly and then suddenly without a decent notice period the supply was abruptly stopped.
Each week, 2 to 4 pallets of dog and cat food were shipped into the shelter at no charge. That is an incredibly generous thing to do and I think it is a very clever thing to do because the food was unsaleable to the public in the state in which it was presented.
What Del Monte have done over the 6 years makes me think that other big manufacturers could do the same thing. Perhaps they do but I have never read about it. Perhaps somebody could enlighten me?
The question remains as to why Del Monte Foods ceased to provide pet food to the shelter.
Apparently, it may be connected with the fact that earlier this year Del Monte Foods created, out of their business, Big Heart Pet Brands. This was apparently a restructuring to make the company more efficient. Perhaps it was due to the economic crash and the recession that the world has suffered from since 2008 thanks to the recklessness and greed of the bankers. Or, a new boss made a decision. They have not given a reason, we are told.
As I said, the Humane Society is devastated and they are looking for a new supplier. Fortunately, they have 30 days supply remaining.
I think this is quite an enlightening story because as mentioned, it does raise the question as to why other big manufacturers are not as generous as Del Monte were for these past 6 years.
It seems highly plausible that other pet food companies have similar issues regarding the marketability of their product.
Photo: George Warren KXTV/News 10
On behalf of Roberta:
Hi,
I don’t have a working computer but I would suggest that Delta quickly have someone get on the phone to the people on this list (see link below) and see about another like kind arrangement. I don’t personally think it is wise to publicize that Del Monte abandoned them, although I do notice that the information may have been from a TV source.
Good luck to them. I didn’t know how to get this on the blog.
Best regards,
Rioberta
Link:
http://www.felinecrf.org/catfood_manufacturers_usa.htm
Nancy, I take your point. Good point. But I don’t think the law forbids them giving away as a gift this pet food and also the recipient will have agreed to accept it. Therefore there’d be no possibility of being sued under these circumstances.
There is too much waste as you suggest.
NO ONE HERE CAN SELL BUSTED BAGS OF ANIMAL FOOD .THEY ARE AFRAID THEY CAN GET SUED.DONT MAKE NO SENSE TO ME.THEY HAVE TO PUT IT IN THE LAND FILL.
Many big pet food companies give their food to those who look after cats and dogs. Majority do that for promotional purposes to build brand awareness and attractiveness in the eyes of consumers (alignment with a good cause). From one side yes, shelters/rescues need food, from another side, companies that produce not the best food for pets use this opportunity to raise their brand. If somebody produces good food and donates, fantastic! xx
Thank you for that info. Pakistan should start manufacturing more. Creating wealth and being charitable 😉
No Michael, here the companies are importers, and importers are only profit greedy people, not think about welfare of cats 🙁 I have tried.
And let me clear that you are the only person on this planet who have ever donated me 110 pounds. Otherwise I am on my own 🙁