New warehouse keeps Hamilton Pet Pantry shelves stocked

AMJ Campbell has provided a 45,000-square-foot warehouse in Cambridge at a reduced rate, along with additional transportation and logistics services.

The Hamilton/Burlington SPCA’s Pet Pantry program has partnered with AMJ Campbell to secure a 45,000-square-foot warehouse in Cambridge at a reduced rate. The agreement includes additional transportation and logistics services.

Two months after issuing an urgent call for warehouse space, the Hamilton/Burlington SPCA has announced it will never be forced to turn away large donations of pet food.

Back in August, the animal welfare charity announced it had received its largest-ever gift-in-kind donation of $1.5 million in pet food, representing about 1.1 million dog and cat meals.

But at the time, there was nowhere to store the items at the SPCA’s cramped Dartnall Road headquarters.

Animal charity needs a 10,000-square foot warehouse space to support its Pet Pantry program

Earlier this month, the SPCA announced that AMJ Campbell has provided a 45,000-square-foot warehouse in Cambridge at a reduced rate, along with additional transportation and logistics services.

The new warehouse is currently housing about 500 skids of donations for use in its Pet Pantry food bank program, Hamilton/Burlington SPCA director of strategy Brad Grabell said in an interview on Tuesday. In addition to pickups at the SPCA’s Hamilton headquarters, Pet Pantry helps pet owners in need of support with pet food and basic supplies. The initiative delivers food to homes and encampment sites in Hamilton daily.

“Our reach has grown exponentially,” said Grabell. “Pet Pantry used to be just pickup. We now have delivery vehicles on the road every day. We can’t distribute it all ourselves anymore.”

Thanks to the new warehouse space, Grabell said the SPCA is assisting other humane societies in Toronto, Ottawa, Niagara and London with pet food donations. The charity is also planning to deliver a shipment of goods to an Indigenous community in northern Ontario that’s accessible only by air.

“We’re now becoming a hub that other humane societies are calling for deliveries, and we’re able to facilitate that now,” said Grabell. “Our new partner is not only a warehouse provider for us, but a logistics provider as well. So we’re able to get our shipments of food anywhere we want them within about 48 hours.”

Locally, the SPCA partners with agencies like Hamilton Food Share, Neighbour to Neighbour and Good Shepherd to distribute goods.

Grabell said Pet Pantry has grown so fast over the past year that it’s difficult to say how many clients it helps each month.

“The program is about 20 times larger than it was last year, just based on the pure amount of food that we’re distributing and the amount of clients that we’re serving,” he noted.

Grabell estimated the Hamilton/Burlington SPCA will provide two million pet meals through Pet Pantry this year.

In a news release, AMJ Campbell vice-president and partner James Messenger said the SPCA partnership fulfils a company goal to give back to the community.

“The goal was simple: let’s offer some free services where and when we can, and see how we can be of help,” said Messenger. “The more we get involved with this organization, the more we are amazed at the value they provide our communities.”

The SPCA intends to maintain a long-term relationship with AMJ Campbell, even with a looming expansion plan, Grabell said. Earlier this year, the SPCA secured a minor variance for a potential 53,820-square-foot building next to its longtime shared headquarters with the city’s animal services department.

Grabell said the SPCA is continuing its due diligence for the expansion. The next step is a site plan application. But the charity is still examining multiple options, including expanding at its current site or a multi-location approach.

“It’s exciting,” said Grabell. “We hope to be able to update the community at some point in the new year with our plan and definitely something more concrete.”

In addition to cash and food donations, Grabell said the public can help the SPCA by joining its volunteer teams.

Pet Pantry, for example, is operated almost entirely by volunteers. Helpers are also needed in the animal hospital, shelter and kennel, for example.

“Volunteers are at the core, to make sure we’re spending every dollar wisely and we can scale the programs to something that’s meaningful,” Grabell noted.

Visit hbspca.com for more details.

Mike Pearson is a reporter with Metroland, primarily coveringHaldimand County and Glanbrook. Reach him at [email protected].

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