This innovative idea is eliminating hunger in Small Town, USA
Opponents are appalled, want program shut down
SPRINGFIELD, OH — “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” President Donald Trump said on September 10 at the ABC News Presidential Debate.
Trump’s comments are drawing national attention to a new pilot project aiming to end hunger and reduce the number of stray dogs and cats in Springfield, Ohio.
Feral Feeds Meets Our Needs is the innovative idea of the Clark County SPCA and the Springfield Soup Kitchen. Launched less than a month ago, it is already making a significant impact in the community.
“Our animal shelter is at full capacity. As much as we’d like to, we simply don’t have the space to take in any more lost or unwanted pets,” President of the Clark County SPCA Krissi Hawke said. “Since starting Feral Feeds Meets Our Needs, we’re taking in fewer animals which means our shelter is no longer overcrowded.”
“It used to be that people were desperately hungry when we opened our doors, but that’s not really the case so much anymore” Springfield Soup Kitchen Guy Fred Stegner said, noting that the soup kitchen is only open two days a week.
That is because Feral Feeds Meets Our Needs takes a novel approach to feeding the hungry. The program supplies unfed and underfed citizens with animal tranquilizer blow dart kits that they can use to incapacitate a stray animal. They can then take that animal to Rudy’s Smokehouse or the Rudy’s Smokehouse Food Truck where Rudy’s kitchen staff will grill it to perfection.
“I think it’s important to give back to my community, and this is a way that I can do that. After all, I have the best barbecue grills in all of Central Ohio,” Rudy’s Smokehouse owner Rudy Mosketti said.
But some animal welfare advocates, like well-known furry feline fan President Trump, are appalled by Feral Feeds Meets Our Needs and want to see the program shut down.
“This is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame,” Trump said to an audience of 67.1 million viewers.
Hawke and Stegner disagree. They defended Feral Feeds Meets Our Needs by saying the program bridges large funding gaps for the critical services their organizations provide in the community.
“The Clark County SPCA’s ability to house stray animals is limited to the size of our facility. We can only take in so many animals before our ability to properly care for them declines. Maybe we wouldn’t need Feral Feeds Meets Our Needs if we had the kind of funding that would allow us to build a larger facility to house all the strays in Springfield.”
Like Hawke, Stegner wishes the Springfield Soup Kitchen, which serves meals to about 250 citizens on Mondays and Wednesdays, could feed more people more often, but said it too is limited by funding shortfalls.
“A month ago, the Exchange Club of Springfield generously donated 250 dollars. If you can tell me how I’m supposed to feed 250 people every day of the week for 250 dollars, then maybe they wouldn’t need to eat stray dogs and cats,” Stegner said.
“The sad truth is we don’t have the resources to feed people seven days a week. But hungry people need to eat.”
Feral Feeds Meets Our Needs was created to ensure they can.
Despite the protestations of federal politicians, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue could not be happier with the program’s early results.
“Thanks to cutting-edge initiatives like Feral Feeds Meets Our Needs, wild dogs and feral cats no longer roam the streets at night posing a dangerous threat to our citizens. Plus, the food insecure citizens of Springfield are eating more healthy, tasty meals that are high in protein than ever before. I’d call that a win-win for our fair city” Mayor Rue said.
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