Ashington woman sets up food bank for pets in wake of cost of living crisis

Tyesha Muncaster, 24, only launched the service three days ago, but has already managed to help 40 pets.

She got the idea for a pet food bank after she posted a note online asking if anyone wanted some leftover kitten food pouches. Tyesha has recently started her two cats – Oreo and Milo – on adult food but rather than throw their old food in the bin, she thought it would be better to give it away.

Such was the demand, Tyesha, who works in digital marketing, decided to set up a pet food bank and the service has taken off.

She said: “All I did was put a post up saying if anyone was struggling to feed their kittens they should let me know, and I’d help them out with a few leftover pouches.

"The reaction was absolutely insane, and I soon realised there was a really high demand out there for pet food.”

Tyesha has set up a Facebook page called A helping paw food share – Ashington and all people need to do is send her a message via the page in order to receive a food package.

She mainly helps dogs, cats and rabbits, but is open to helping any animal.

She said: “If someone sends me a message asking for help, I just follow that up with a few questions about what they need and for how long. I then try to create a package for as long as they need it, all they have to do is come to my home to pick it up.”

Tyesha is therefore appealing for donations – both food and financial – and has asked people to contact her via her Facebook page. She has also set up a Paypal account – people should just send the page a message for details.

One grateful pet owner who has benefited from a care package posted on the group’s Facebook yesterday: “Thankyou so much for what you have given me.

"It’s an absolutely amazing thing that you are doing and people like me would be lost without you.”