This old newspaper box will be used by Leann Lawson as a pet food pantry in White River Township. Community members can take what supplies they need and leave the rest for others in need.
Submitted photo
The owner of a Greenwood animal rescue nonprofit hopes her planned outdoor pet food pantry will help those most in need.
Leann Lawson, the owner of Leann’s Animal Rescue, is working to place a pet food pantry at Independence Park. The pantry would operate similarly to little food pantries that are placed in areas of the county, where residents can drop off and take items no questions asked.
Since 2014, the White River Township resident has been the proprietor of Leann’s Animal Rescue. With the rescue, she takes in animals that are at risk of euthanasia, trains them and makes sure they are spayed or neutered and given vaccinations. Once they are healthy and ready to adopt, she matches them with an adoptive family based on the animal’s personality and needs, she said.
The Petite Pet Pantry stems from these efforts.
“A lot of people messaged me and asked me for help with their dog food or dog treats or just anything. …. So I figured if I had a location that people could just check weekly and come and pick up [items] and I could keep it stocked and maybe that could help those people,” Lawson said.
There are a lot of people who need assistance right now, and Lawson hopes she can get food and treats to animals in need with the pantry, she said.
“There are people that are not real comfortable for asking for help,” Lawson said.
Lawson bought the box for the pet pantry in January, and since then has been working with the Johnson County Parks & Recreation to have it placed at Independence Park in White River Township. The approval process has slowed down the efforts to get it installed quickly, she said.
As the park is county-owned, Parks Superintendent Kevin Leonard is seeking approval from the Board of Commissioners for Lawson’s project later this month. If approved by the commissioners, he will then need to get approval from the county parks board at their March 7 meeting, he said.
Regardless of what happens, Lawson plans to find a location for it “very soon” as she doesn’t want to leave it in her living room for another month, she said. She has considered putting it in her front yard so people can get it, and has also considered asking Bargersville Police or the White River Township Fire Department if she can place it at one of their stations, she said.
Those who may want to help with Lawson’s efforts can go online to leannsanimalrescue.com, where it has information on donations and volunteering. People who want to help with the pantry once it is placed can leave something in the box for those in need, though she plans to keep it full regardless of what other people do. She hopes people will only take what they need, she said.
“I will be checking on it regularly just to make sure that it stays full,” Lawson said.
