From Our Volunteers' Hearts To Santa Cruz Pets

Hello, dear Pet Lovers and Supporters of Pet Food Bank Lakeside! We're here to share some heartwarming updates from Pet Food Bank Lakeside, where our mission is to make a difference one paw at a time.

10/2/20242 min read

At Pet Food Bank Lakeside, we’re incredibly grateful for our volunteers, and this month, we want to shine a light on two of our dedicated heroes—Steve and Karen Motenko.

Every month, this wonderful couple delivers much-needed pet food to the families in Santa Cruz, making a real difference in the lives of both pets and their people.

Not only do they handle our pet food deliveries, but they also bring food boxes, or despensas, for Foodbank Lakeside, whose partnership makes it possible for us to help in such a meaningful way. Foodbank Lakeside’s amazing delivery system and thorough screening process ensure that the families who truly need help receive it. Thanks to their monthly updates, we know exactly how many families and pets we’ll be able to serve, making every donation count. Recently Steve went a step further and wrote a heartfelt story about their latest journey to Santa Cruz, sharing the impact of your support through words and photos. We’re thrilled to bring you his story, straight from the heart of this generous community effort

On a dirt road in Santa Cruz de la Soledad east of Chapala, two young members of a Foodbank Lakeside recipient family feed their hungry dogs with food just delivered by Foodbank Lakeside volunteers. Their mamá mentioned that the dog food that Pet FoodBank Lakeside provides enough food to last their dogs about a week and a half. After that, until the next delivery, the family scrapes together leftovers, tortillas, and even broth to feed to their hungry animal companions.

On the outskirts of Santa Cruz east of Chapala are two houses – actually little more than shacks – where the residents, who depend on FoodBank Lakeside for their nutritional needs, do what they can to take care of the numerous neighborhood street dogs, some of whom they can’t help but adopt.

In this photo, their hungry perritos devour dog food just delivered by Pet Food Bank volunteers. The dogs seem to know the volunteers’ cars. They greet them enthusiastically – and expectantly.

The dog in the foreground once grabbed a bag of cat food out of a volunteer's hand and absconded with it into the field across the way. From then on, the volunteers have been a little more careful ….