Nonprofit opening Minnesota's first pet food shelf

A Minneapolis-based nonprofit is opening the state's first food shelf for pet food in an effort to prevent owners from giving up their animals because they cannot feed them. 

People & Pets Together, formerly known as The Pet Project, is a nonprofit that provides programs designed to keep people with their pets. The organization has been providing pet food to local food shelves for several years, but will now offer a permanent location to assist owners struggling to feed their animals.

Qualified pet owners in Minneapolis’s Powderhorn, Phillips and Corcoran neighborhoods can sign up to access the pet food shelf toward the end of this year. The organization says the food shelf will operate like a “pet supply store,” allowing the owners to choose what food they want for their animals.

However, before they can start taking home food, the clients will have to attend a short orientation instructing them about their pet nutrition choices.

The new multi-use space opens on Oct. 18 at 3755 Bloomington Ave. South in Minneapolis.