Don't Make Seniors Choose Between Their Meals and Their Pets

Final signature count: 6,329

6,329 signatures toward our 30,000 goal

For millions of older Americans, a pet is not a luxury. It is a daily companion, a reason to get up, a source of calm in an otherwise isolated life. Research in Innovation in Aging links pet ownership in older adults to stronger social connections and measurably better emotional health.³ For a homebound senior living alone, that bond can be the most consistent human-like connection they have.

That bond is now under threat — and the danger is financial.

Fixed Incomes Can't Stretch Far Enough

Millions of older Americans already struggle to afford enough food for themselves. Rising grocery prices, fixed Social Security checks, and mounting basic expenses have pushed senior food insecurity to a serious national problem.⁴ Layer in the cost of a pet — which can exceed $30,000 over an animal's lifetime — and the math becomes impossible for many.⁵

Researchers have begun calling this "pet poverty." Roughly one in seven pet owners cannot reliably afford food, supplies, or veterinary care for their animals.⁵ Seniors on fixed incomes are among the hardest hit. As costs climb, more people are surrendering their pets — and even rehoming an animal has become more expensive and harder to navigate than it once was.⁸ For an elderly person living alone, losing a pet is not a minor adjustment. It can accelerate mental and physical decline.

There's a Proven Model — It Just Doesn't Reach Everyone

Meals on Wheels programs have already shown this problem is solvable. A partnership between Meals on Wheels America and PetSmart Charities has delivered 20 million pet meals to homebound seniors alongside their own food.¹ In Yolo County, California, a local collaboration between Meals on Wheels and county animal services launched pet supply drives for seniors in need.⁷ These efforts work. But they are not available in most communities, and demand far outpaces what currently exists.

Meanwhile, the broader infrastructure is at risk. Federal funding for senior nutrition programs is already inadequate — hundreds of thousands of seniors sit on waiting lists.² A proposed House appropriations bill would cut funding for the very programs that pet-assistance initiatives depend on.⁶ Without sustained federal investment, even the models that work cannot grow.

What We're Asking For

The solution is practical: expand pet food assistance and affordable veterinary referral services through existing Meals on Wheels delivery infrastructure. The network is already trusted. The relationships are already in place. The seniors who need help are already being reached. Adding pet support to that system is not a sentimental gesture — it is a direct investment in the health and stability of older Americans who have no other safety net.

Keeping a senior and their pet together keeps a family together. And family, in whatever form it takes, is worth protecting.

Sign the petition now to urge federal aging-services leaders and Congress to expand Meals on Wheels pet assistance programs — so that no senior has to choose between their own meals and keeping the companion animal they depend on.