As the cost of living continues to rise in British Columbia, the BC SPCA Pet Food bank is experiencing a critical decrease in donations as demand reaches a record high. Since January 2026, the program has helped more than 17,000 pets across the province, ensuring that guardians do not have to surrender their pets due to pet food prices.
One of these pets is Susie, a 10-year-old dog living on Vancouver Island. After her guardian passed away, Susie was taken in by a friend who very recently relied on the support of their local BC SPCA Pet Food Bank program to keep Susie fed during a challenging week.
Last year, the BC SPCA increased its pet food bank partnerships to more than 168 partners in B.C., significantly expanding the reach of the program for vulnerable communities. “These partnerships are crucial to our efforts to reach remote locations or larger numbers of families in areas where we do not have Community Animal Centres” shared Diane Waters, community services specialist, low-income and food bank programs, BC SPCA. One of these partnerships with Saint Vincent de Paul allows the BC SPCA Pet Food Bank to reach remote locations and First Nation communities in North Vancouver Island. “There will be many happy, tail-wagging dogs and cats this month in Tahsis, Zeballos, Kyuquot and First Nation communities of Ehattesaht and Oclucje,” said Paul Bertrand, Conference VP & Coordinator, North of 50 Food Security Projects, Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. “Then there are the smiles of appreciation for this wonderful partnership with the BC SPCA.”
Similar manufacturer’s logistics challenges difficulties across B.C. are causing pet food prices to rise. Research by Agri-Food Analytics Lab noted that a strong increase to pet food prices from 2021 to 2023 was driven by higher protein, packaging and transportation costs. In 2024 and 2025, prices remained elevated. According to the research, costs are even higher in B.C. due to logistics and a stronger market for premium products. “We’re also seeing households adjust—trading down, buying in bulk, or relying more on pet food banks,” shared Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Director Agri-Food Analytics Lab, Dalhousie University “which underscores the importance of the BC SPCA Pet Food program.”
Dr. Charlebois expects another increase in pet food prices in 2026 likely in line with general food inflation. However, while pet food prices take longer to go up than groceries do, once they rise, they rarely come back down. This is specially more challenging for rural locations in B.C.
How you can help
BC SPCA programs, including the Pet Food Bank, are not funded by the Government. They rely on the the caring contributions of animal-lovers like you, and the valuable partnerships the BC SPCA is building across the province to support animals in B.C. If you are in a position to, please make a loving gift to feed a pet today.
We also accept physical donations that can be distributed in the community. These can be dropped off at any BC SPCA location. Currently, the biggest needs are:
- Pet food for dogs, cats and small pets. Both dry and wet (they must be unopened and within expiry date)
- Cat litter
- Hay, for small pets
- New and gently used beds, leashes, collars, harnesses, carriers, toys, brushes, coats, etc.! We will also take pee pads and nail trimmers.