“A huge help for our community:” Greenhill’s new warehouse enables expansion of pet pantry
Shelves of the new Greenhill pet pantry, some stocked with pet food.
A resident of Greenhill’s kitten room meeting some of the United Way staff.
Greenhill’s donation bin sits in front of their main entrance.
Last month, Greenhill Humane Society completed construction of their new pet pantry warehouse, located on the shelter’s grounds in southwest Eugene. The temperature-controlled storage space will allow Greenhill to accept and store larger quantities of donations, including food, litter, and kitten-milk replacement, that are distributed to families in the community at no cost through programs like United Way’s Ride United.
Ride United, a partnership between United Way and DoorDash, is primarily used by local food pantries to deliver food boxes to families without the transportation or resources to pick them up. Greenhill helps fill an additional need by also ensuring families’ pets have food they need, as well.
Since launching the PET (Pets Eating Too) program in April 2022, Greenhill and Ride United have completed 964 deliveries of pet food to community members in Lane County.
“We are able to offer deliveries within a ten-mile radius [of Greenhill] because of Ride United. It’s a huge help for our community.”
Sarah Bouzad giving some United Way staff members a tour of the cattery at Greenhill.
Pet ownership is on the rise in the United States, with a 2022 Forbes study finding that 66% of American households have at least one pet, and that cat and dog owners spend an average of $310-$339 annually on pet food alone. So when financial hardship hits, all family members, including pets, are affected. “We don’t want folks to be put in a position where they have to ask themselves, ‘who am I going to feed this week?’” said Greenhill Executive Director Cary Lieberman.
The Forbes study also found that 3% of pet owners gave their pet away during 2021 and 2022, with a third of those surveyed citing financial burden as the primary reason. “We strive to keep families together,” said Bouzad, “and this is a great way that we’re able to do it, through pet food, litter, and supplies.”
A long-standing partner of United Way, Greenhill has been active in community and disaster response. During the Holiday Farm Fire in 2020 and the Cedar Creek Fire in 2022, Greenhill provided shelter for displaced pets, and Greenhill is a member of the Lane Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD). Now through the Ride United PET Program, Greenhill has procured over $7,900 of pet food and supplies for delivery, in addition to community donations to the pantry, which can all be securely housed in the new warehouse space.
A Greenhill staff member distributing pet food to a local dog owner.
“I do not know how I would be getting by without this program. Thank you so much and God bless you.”
United Way of Lane County’s Ride United program, established in 2020, now facilitates over 200 deliveries per week of food and other essential items through a network of local partners in Eugene, Springfield, Creswell, Florence, and Junction City.
Learn more about Greenhill’s newly opened pet pantry warehouse in their latest press release here.
You can support Ride United all around Lane County by giving to United Way’s general fund here.
Ride United food bags sit on a shelf in the new warehouse, ready to be delivered.
A resident of Greenhill’s rabbit room.
Greenhill’s donation wish list. Greenhill accepts gently-used pet items or food items (even if already opened).