Pet food banks: 'At least the dog's not going hungry as well'

Sarah Atkinson stores hundreds of packs of pet food ready to hand out to owners

A former chip shop is being used to feed pets whose owners are feeling the squeeze from soaring prices.

Sarah Atkinson has run a pet food bank from the premises of Big Lamp Chippy in Chorley, Lancashire, since September.

The 44-year-old said the facility was going from "strength to strength" - but should not be needed at all.

Many of its users said they would choose to feed their pets first, even if this meant going without food themselves.

The cost of pet food and related products went up by more than 17% in the year to November, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

An increasing number of pet food banks have been set up across the country to try to help people get by, including by charities like the RSPCA and Blue Cross.

Ms Atkinson, who opens her pet food bank on Wednesday evenings, also owns a pet shop in the town so said she could see the need first-hand.

"I'd seen the change in buying patterns in my shop - people going for a cheaper range of foods, not coming in as often - prices were just fluctuating so much and I thought we need to do this and get it ready for winter, because this is when it's going to hit hardest.

"We set up in September, and it's just gone from strength to strength. It's been amazing."

Donna Allsopp says having access to a pet food bank is "like a dream" for dog-owners

Donna Allsopp, who works as a phlebotomist at Chorley hospital, has a pocket bulldog and a bearded dragon and said the current situation was "atrocious".

"You can't afford anything anywhere," she said.

"Everything's gone up massively by pounds, it's not even pence any more, obviously dogs are growing dogs - they like to eat.

"But this is like a dream for people like us with dogs. At least you know the dog's not going hungry as well."

Another Chorley resident, Paul Cookson, who was collecting for his seven cats, said he was struggling financially at the moment but planned to donate back to the food bank when possible.

Dean Evans, picking up food for his elderly Staffy, said: "We have to cut back on everything - and usually, the last thing we do cut back on is the dog.

"But it gets harder and harder, so something like this is absolutely fantastic. Makes everything just that little bit easier."

Dean Evans says his dog is the last thing he would cut back on

Local businesses, vets and dog walkers have got involved to help the Chorley pet food bank. Donation points have been set up across the area.

"It's amazing to see who's getting involved," Ms Atkinson said, adding that people who were "desperately stuck" took the bare minimum "because they don't want to take off somebody else - and you don't see them again and you wonder 'I hope they're OK'".

"It's hard, because it shouldn't be here - we shouldn't need it - but to know we're helping is just what it's all about."

According to the ONS, the increase in the price of "products for pets" - which includes food but also items like collars and cages - in the three months to November was even higher than that of general food.

The RSPCA has said switching pet food could save people money, but owners should check with a vet before making changes to their pet's diet.

UK Pet Food said it was "all too aware" of the pressures households were under and was "working hard behind the scenes" to support pets and their owners.

Volatility brought on by the war in Ukraine had left the industry "grappling with the rising costs of ingredients, energy, transport, and packaging", it added.