History
The economic crisis of 2008 caused many families to face extreme hardships. Many were forced to choose between feeding the family and feeding the family pet. Two area women were brought together by a common goal; to keep pets with their families. A committee was formed in the fall, and DF2FM launched an inaugural Valentine pet food drive in February of 2009 as an initiative working through TAFB. DF2FM quickly grew, and in September of 2010 DF2FM set up independent office space and began a distribution partnership with Community Food Bank. We began a distribution partnership with The Community Storehouse in Keller the following year. In 2013, Wesley Mission Center in Mansfield joined the DF2FM family and began distributing pet food. After 10 years of service the organization began to outgrow the space at CFB. In 2018 we moved into our own facility. This move provided more warehouse and office space, further allowing the organization to make a difference in the community.
Specialties
DF2FM is the only social service agency in the Metroplex focused solely on assisting pet owners with pet food. By keeping our focus on this one issue, we are able to address this specific need efficiently and quickly. DF2FM does not attempt to duplicate services offered by other organizations or agencies. Many local agencies focus on ensuring that humans have adequate food and nutrition; however, we hear repeatedly from organizations that provide food to humans that a pet owner will often choose to go without food to ensure their companion animals are fed. With fully 2/3 of Americans being pet owners, the need to provide pet food to pet owners experiencing economic uncertainty is real and immediate. By providing pet owners with pet food, DF2FM not only ensures that owners are able to feed themselves but that pets receive food that is nutritionally appropriate for animals. Additionally, many local agencies help pet owners with veterinary needs such as spaying/neutering and vaccinations, and many local agencies are concerned with ensuring that homeless animals are adopted into