Serving the Pets & People on Delmarva

By Susan Martin

Everyone was affected one way or another in the midst of the 2020 pandemic. It was hard not being able to be close to those we love. A demographic hit hard was the elderly and those with health conditions that keep them homebound, to begin with.

Some residents and organizations wanted to help and impact the community.

For 37 years, Peggy Bradford was the Executive Director of MAC, Inc. Her leadership at MAC was coupled with years of experience working with the Meals on Wheels program. And she’s still involved in the program, even after retirement. Peggy is currently spending a lot of her time with the Salisbury Kennel Club as the Obedience Class Chair. 

Last year, she and some Kennel Club friends were discussing the impact the pandemic was having on the elderly. They observed some Meals on Wheels recipients saving portions of their meals to be able to feed their pets. And suddenly they discovered a need that needed to be met. Peggy’s friend Diane Spalding questioned, “why don’t we do something about it?”

This simple question budded the idea for a pet food program.

The Kennel Club, its sister organization The Kennel Club Charitable Trust, and MAC worked closely together to pen a memorandum and survey the current recipients of Meals on Wheels for their interest in such a pet food service. The results were astounding — there was definitely an interest. So many residents were grateful for the option. The Kennel Club members and people attending classes at the Club’s training center began gathering pet food donations for dogs and cats. These donations helped to jumpstart the delivery of food for pets along with fresh meals for their human counterparts. 

Currently, they provide food for 55 pets, all cats and dogs with one feathered friend. Food is graciously donated by Delmarva residents, the Kennel Club and the Charitable Trust. They are currently accepting food donations in the box in the lobby of the Kennel Club. They’ve collected over 4,000 lbs. of food so far. They are working on surveying the Meals on Wheels recipients as to the types of pet food they prefer. It’s always a good idea to stick with the same brand and type of food for our pets.

They’ve also been awarded nationwide grants to help jumpstart the new program. “We’re off to a great start providing food to low-income, homebound elderly Delmarva residents and their pets,” said Peggy Bradford.

The Charitable Trust doesn’t want this to stop at food. They want to provide Delmarva residents with basic needs assistance and education on pet ownership along with training. As the program expands, they want to add in pet tips on a monthly basis, pet identification tags and collars with owner names. For so many of the Meals on Wheels recipients, the only family they have is the pet. Many of them live alone so pets and M.O.W. deliveries are the only interaction they get. “It’s more than just delivering meals, it’s being the community,” commented Peggy.

How does someone get meals?

Contact the MAC, Inc. center if you or someone you know could benefit from meal delivery from Meals on Wheels. Right now, this pet food program is available in Wicomico County. They are exploring the possibility of starting a program in Somerset County soon.

Meals on Wheel is a nationwide organization with local outlets, including Delmarva. They provide two meals a day to homebound adults aged 60 or older or adults with chronic health conditions or disabilities who have become homebound and meet eligibility guidelines. One hot and one refrigerated meal are delivered for each adult (the weekly schedule can vary). 

Ready to start helping out with Meals on Wheels?

Contact Mac, Inc. at 410-742-0505. They are located on Progress Circle on Snow Hill Rd. in Salisbury, Md. They are always looking for volunteers and companies or organizations to adopt a delivery route.

Ready to donate?

Donations are tax-deductible. Make checks out to the “Salisbury Maryland Kennel Club Charitable Trust” at P.O. Box 1264, Salisbury, Maryland 21802. There is also a large box in the lobby of the Kennel Club’s Training Center on Winterplace Drive in Salisbury, Md. Pet food can be dropped off Monday through Friday.

They are currently accepting the following dog foods:

• Purina Kibbles ‘n’ Bits dry food
• Purina Smart Blend dry food 
• Alpo Pedigree canned dog food

They are currently accepting the following cat foods:

Friskies or Purina dry food or canned (Friskies, Purina or Fancy Feast).

They prefer to receive the smaller bags, between 5 lb. and 10 lb.