Call for Donations & Corporate Sponsors....

We're looking for more sponsors to support our Pet Food Bank because we can't keep up with the overwhelming demand.

As you may know, Space Coast Kibble Kitchen is a Florida 501 c 3, non-profit charity established in the Spring of 2010.  Our mission is to give donated food to needy pets whose parents are facing financial crisis, and prevent animal surrender. Every month we help feed over 1200 cats and over 800 dogs, serving more than 200 families. We start out each month with about 5000 lbs of pet food and end with just a few pounds, or none, which means we start over from scratch each month raising funds and doing food drives so we can handle the following month's demand.

We're at the front lines of this issue, trying to prevent people from having to surrender their much-loved pets to local animal shelters. The Ugly truth is that the animal shelters are overwhelmed. If you walk into any animal shelter in Brevard County you would see that pets are being grouped together and that there are no empty cages. The Ugly Ugly truth is that more than half of these surrendered pets are never adopted and are unfortunately euthanized.

We are sustained completely by financial and food donations from individuals, schools and businesses. Everyone from our organization is a volunteer and we all have full time jobs. None of us draw a salary or get compensated in any way for running the food bank, aside from it being personally rewarding to all of us. Everything that we have - from our website, post cards, business cards, storage facility, etc, is the result of a donation, which means that every penny we raise goes directly toward buying pet food.

Because of the languishing economy and the Space Program's massive layoffs, the situation is getting much, much worse. Every month this year, we've had to turn away many families because we simply run out of food.

This is why we need more help to continue our efforts to keep pets and their families together. We have held multiple fundraisers in the past year and we still can't keep up with the demand.

If you own a business, or know someone who does, or you personally want to help save the lives of our local pets, please send us your food or financial donations (please see the sidebar for how to donate). Your financial donations will be tax deductible since we're a non-profit charity organization.

Thank you for your support and love for pets!

YOU ARE INVITED!

Please click on the above image to read details.

How to start a pet food bank: 10 steps to helping pets on a shoestring budget

Terry May and Susan Fritz founded Space Coast Kibble Kitchen in Brevard County, FL, to help families struggling with financial difficulties keep their pets. With help from Cynthia Koppler of the Bright Paws Pet Food Bank by Bright Star, they are working to make sure no local pets are surrendered due to economic hardship. Today they share some tips for starting a pet food bank in your community.

As cousins and longtime animal activists, we decided to come up with a way to help keep Brevard County families and pets together while reducing the burden on local shelters. Throughout our lives, we've been blessed with having countless animals join our families and enrich our lives beyond belief, and we can't imagine being placed in the unthinkable position of choosing between giving up our pets and making them go hungry. This was our motivation for starting Space Coast Kibble Kitchen.

If you'd like to start a pet food bank in your town, here's a 10-step guide to start you on this incredibly rewarding journey.

Step 1: Create a Plan. The plan should clearly define your mission, benefits and purpose, and the cost of getting your food bank started and sustained. It should also include a board of directors, preferably people who share the same love for animals and have areas of expertise that will benefit your organization (e.g. business owners and experts in inventory, bookkeeping and publicity). Your board of directors will help you determine a name for your food bank and the needs of the organization and keep you focused on your primary mission. An odd number of board members is ideal, should a vote be required to make a business decision.
Cost: $0

Step 2: Get Incorporated. Go to your local county clerk's office and file for Articles of Incorporation for Nonprofits, which will protect your board and staff from legal liabilities. Each state has its own incorporation fee (in Florida, it's $75). This process takes a few days. Once incorporated, file for a tax ID number with the IRS by calling 1-800-829-4933. This is free and happens instantly.
Estimated cost: $30-125

Step 3: File for 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Status. Find someone well-versed in non-profit accounting to help you file. This is a critical step and a daunting task, but with the right accountant, preferably one willing to donate his or her time, it will lead to tax-exemption and grant money, which will help sustain your organization. The 501(c)(3) filing requires paperwork that can be downloaded from the IRS Web site. You can file on your own, but it's not recommended.
Cost: $400

Step 4: Set up Your Business. Plan to store the food at your home or find a business willing to donate part of its storage facility.
Set up a low-cost phone system, such as MagicJack, which includes local and long-distance calling, a phone number, voicemail, caller ID, etc.

Set up a checking account for your business, establish a regular food distribution location (get a local business to donate a parking lot) and hours of operation. Start out as you mean to continue: For example, we distribute on the second Saturday of each month.
Cost for the MagicJack phone system: $39.95; $19.95 annual renewal fee

Step 5: Build you Brand and Start Marketing. Create a logo and tagline that represents your mission and distinguishes you from others. Find a designer to create it for free (check out Idealist.org for volunteers) or purchase a stock photo online (for example, at iStockphoto.com), which gives you the copyright to the artwork.
Estimated cost: $75 for stock art

Step 6: Build an Online Community. Capitalize on free social networking by creating a free blog (for example, at Blogger.com), Facebook page and Twitter account for your business. Create a PayPal account, linked to your organization's checking account, and post PayPal donation widgets to these sites to receive online donations.
Invite friends to read your blog and follow your organization on Facebook and Twitter (and ask them to invite their friends). Take advantage of Twitter's hashtags, such as #Animals, #Dogs, #Cats, #Pets, #MeowMonday, #TweetAPetTues, #WoofWednesday, #Fursday and #FF. List your organization on Twitter directories such as http://wefollow.com/, http://twitr.org/ and http://www.tweetfind.com/ to gain more followers.
Cost: $0

Step 7: Hold a Kickoff Fundraiser to Recoup Your Set -up Costs. Find a local restaurant willing to host your fundraiser and food drive. Get the owners to donate part of the proceeds from the event to your charity. Invite your pet -loving friends to come to the event via e-mail, your blog, Facebook, Twitter and word-of-mouth. Get local businesses to donate products and services to raffle off (and don't stop there; continue the fundraisers and enlist local schools and businesses to conduct food drives).
Cost: $0

Step 8: Spread the Word with PR. Announce the opening of your food bank and your fundraisers/food drives by distributing a press release to local papers and radio and TV stations.
Cost: $0

Step 9: Partner with Others. If there's another pet food bank in town, approach them to partner with you. You both have the same mission and partnering will reduce abuse of the system and help you share expenses. We partnered with Bright Paws Pet Food Bank, a project associated with Hospice of Health First's Bright Star Center for Grieving Children & Families. In operation for over a year, Bright Paws has distributed more than 30,000 pounds of pet food and helped more than 500 families.

Work with your local pet shelters and pet-supply stores to see if they'll donate stock that is set to expire to your food bank.
Cost: $0

Step 10: Distribute Pet Food to Qualified People. Have applicants register and sign a form stating that without this assistance, they would be faced with surrendering their pets. Qualified people are either unemployed or disabled. However, some people can't show proof if they're no longer collecting unemployment checks, so keep in mind that qualifying is a judgment call. That said, if you can afford to feed your pets, you probably won't stand in a long line on Saturday morning to receive free pet food.

Together with Bright Paws, Space Coast Kibble Kitchen recently held its first distribution day and helped 109 families keep their pets.
Total cost: Priceless!!

Space Coast Kibble Kitchen and Bright Paws are happy to assist anyone who wants to set up a local pet food bank. We'll share our experiences, guidance and good wishes to those who share our interest in helping people facing financial crisis save their pets. You can email Terry, Susan, and Cynthia with questions.

Let's fill the bowls together!

Thank you to PetFinder.com for posting our story.

Are you going to start a pet food pantry or do you volunteer with one now? Tell us about it!

Additional resources:
The Pet Pantry
Cincinnati Pet Food Pantry
Save Our Pets Food Bank: National Locations
Starting a Non-Profit Organization to Help Animals
Obtaining a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Status

Results of Latest Fundraiser

We're pleased to announce that our fundraiser on Friday, June 25 at Fishlips Waterfront Bar & Grill was a huge success! We raised over $1,800 at this fundraiser and silent auction, which will go a long way in helping us save our local pets. We appreciate Fishlips for letting us hold this event at their restaurant, and we must say that the staff at Fishlips went beyond the call of duty to help us in many ways - from getting us set-up on time, keeping the cold drinks coming on such a hot summer evening, promoting the event to their clientele, and even donating to the cause - you guys are awesome!


We also want to thank all the local businesses that donated such great products and services, including Fishlips, Applebee's, Golden Corral, LongHorn Steakhouse, Outback Steakhouse, U-Haul, The Melting Pot, The Stawberry Patch, Amici's Italian Restaurant in Suntree, Wassi's Meat Market in Melbourne, Roxanne Brillante-Justice at Socializing Your Business in Indialantic, Kim Lesser at Yummy Suds in Melbourne Beach, Mariane Brillante at The Shore Life in Indialantic, Margaret Snider at Panache Hair Studio in Melbourne, Brevard Plastic Surgery & Skin Treatment Center in Melbourne, Lori Daly at Lather Lounge Hair Studio in Rockledge, Angela's Furniture in Melbourne, Sandy Clark at Transformations Salon & Day Spa in Melbourne, Mike's Tiki, Ferrara's Victory Motorcycles in Melbourne, Ammo Attic in Melbourne, and last, but certainly not least, John Werling at Stone House Granite, Inc in Melbourne. Those granite kitchen cutting boards and that beautiful hand-crafted granite top Bombay-style chest were selling like hot cakes.

We could not accomplish such a hugely successful event without all of these people and local businesses for their amazing generosity, and we'll be forever grateful. And we want to thank everyone who came out to donate to this worthy cause. Your time and donations will go a long way in helping us save our local pets.

On behalf of Space Coast Kibble Kitchen and our partners Bright Paws Pet Food Bank, bless your pet-lov'in hearts!

Upcoming Fundraiser

Space Coast Kibble Kitchen and Health First's Bright Paws Pet Food Banks Work Together to Help Save Brevard County Pets

Fundraiser Event and Silent Auction to be Held at Fishlips Waterfront Bar & Grill in Port Canaveral on Friday, June 25 2010

We're pround to announce that Space Coast Kibble Kitchen (SCKK) and Hospice of Health First’s Bright Paws program today announced that the two non-profit pet food banks will be working together toward the common goals of providing donated food to Brevard County pet owners who are struggling financially to keep their pets.

Space Coast Kibble Kitchen is Brevard County's newest pet food bank; Bright Paws Pet Food Bank is a project associated with Brevard County's Hospice of Health First's Bright Star Center for Grieving Children & Families.

"We're extremely pleased to work with Space Coast Kibble Kitchen," said Cynthia Koppler, Bright Star Center Program Administrator. "Since we began over a year ago, Bright Paws Pet Food Bank has given out more than 30,000 pounds of free pet food and helped more than 500 residents. As the economy continues to languish, we need more assistance to continue to help Brevard County citizens keep their much-loved pets. By partnering with Space Coast Kibble Kitchen, we now have even more support to help local residents feed their pets."

Bright Paws and Space Coast Kibble Kitchen are sustained completely by financial and resource donations from individuals, schools, and corporations (including local businesses, grocery/pet food stores and pet food manufacturers).

Together, Space Coast Kibble Kitchen and Bright Paws will hold a fundraiser and silent auction on Friday, June 25 from 4pm-7:00pm at Fishlips Waterfront Bar & Grill, located at 610 Glen Cheeck Drive in Port Canaveral. This event will help raise monetary and pet food donations to sustain the pet food banks.
The event will include live entertainment, happy hour, a silent auction and raffle tickets for donated gift certificates, products and services from area restaurants and businesses, including Fishlips, Applebee's, Golden Corral, LongHorn Steakhouse, Outback Steakhouse, The Melting Pot, Amici's Italian Restaurant in Suntree, Bonackers Seafood in Indian Harbour Beach, Wassi's Meat Market in Melbourne, a free blog design creation for your business, linked to your social networking sites from Socializing Your Business in Indialantic, a custom driftwood mirror from The Shore Life Collection in Indialantic, a gift basket loaded with fresh, hand-made bath and body products from Yummy Suds of Melbourne Beach, a gift certificate from Panache Hair Studio in Melbourne, a facial from Brevard Plastic Surgery & Skin Treatment Center in Melbourne, a gift certificate from Lather Lounge Hair Studio in Rockledge, a nautical, framed painting from Angela's Furniture in Melbourne, a haircut by Sandy Clark at Transformations Salon & Day Spa in Melbourne, and hand-crafted granite kitchen cutting boards from Stone House Granite, Inc in Melbourne, in addition to many other great donated products and services from local businesses.

“This collaboration makes perfect sense,” said Susan L. Fritz, co-founder of Space Coast Kibble Kitchen. “The cutbacks to the Space Program will result in massive layoffs and the number of families forced to consider surrendering their pets due to the economy will greatly increase. Our goal is to help keep families and pets together while reducing the burden on local shelters.”

Bright Paws and Space Coast Kibble Kitchen pet food banks distribute free pet food on the second Saturday of every month at Hospice of Health First, 1900 Dairy Road, Melbourne, from 10am until supplies run out. The next two food distributions will be on July 10 and August 14.

The volunteers assisting with the Bright Paws Pet Food Bank distribution are teenagers who participate in the Health First Bright Star Center program, a specialized community resource for children and their families who have experienced grief and loss. The Health First Bright Star Center program encourages the expression of grief experiences verbally and through creative, positive play within a peer group setting. As these young people struggle with their own personal losses, this project provides a way for them to help others in the community, which in turn helps with their own emotional renewal.

Please come to this event and help contribute to saving our local pets.

SCKK Partners with Bright Paws Pet Food Bank

We are proud to announce that Space Coast Kibble Kitchen has partnered with Bright Paws Pet Food Bank, an organization associated with Hospice of Health First's BRIGHT STAR Center for Grieving Children and Families, located in Brevard County. Our two organizations will work together to provide food to Brevard County pet owners who are struggling to keep their pets due to financial crisis.
As the economy worsens, more people are being forced to make tough choices regarding their limited budgets. Unfortunately, many pet owners are now making the agonizing choice of feeding their four-legged loved ones, or providing for other family essentials.
Space Coast Kibble Kitchen and Bright Paws are joining forces to provide free pet food on the second Saturday of each month from 10am until the food runs out. The distribution center is located at Hospice of Health First, 1900 Dairy Road, Melbourne. The next two pet food distributions will be on July 10 and August 14.
The volunteers assisting with the pet food bank distribution are teenagers who participate in the BRIGHT STAR Center program, which helps teens dealing with loved ones death and the resulting grief. As these teens struggle with their own personal losses, this project provides a way for them to help others in the community, which in turn helps with their own emotional renewal.

Since the first anniversary a year ago, Bright Paws pet food bank has given out more than 20,000 pounds of free food and helped at least 400 residents. As Brevard County's newest pet food bank, Space Coast Kibble Kitchen could not be more proud to join forces with Bright Paws to help save our local pets.

Kick-Off Fundraiser Was A Success!

Thanks to your support and generosity, Space Coast Kibble Kitchen is proud to say our kick-off fundraisers this weekend were a huge success! We raised over $1,100, exceeding our expectations!
Here are some pics of the event, in case you missed it. And the added bonus is that Space Coast Kibble Kitchen will be featured in SpaceCoast Living Magazine’s July issue, the premier lifestyle publication serving Brevard County, Florida’s Space Coast.
Congratulations to Barbara Romeo and Toni Wise for each winning a one-of-a-kind vintage-inspired statement necklace donated by RBJewels during this two-day fundraiser - lucky dogs!
RBJewels will be featured at YAPA’s in Historic Downtown Melbourne this weekend, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to treat yourself to a little Pretty for Mother’s Day! http://www.rbjewels.blogspot.com/

Please keep an eye out for the announcement of our next fundraiser. Thanks to all of our pet-loving friends for helping us fill some bowls, we're well on our way to saving our pets in Brevard County!