The Familiar Hearts Animal Society Pet Pantry will hold its next event on Sept. 26 at the Germantown Boys & Girls Club.

The pantry formed in March 2025 when Josie Crist, who runs the Germantown animal community Facebook page, and Aminda Edgar, founder and executive director of Familiar Hearts, came together to organize the first event.

At the pantry, pet owners in need can receive pet food and care items free of charge. Edgar said that economic factors often contribute to pets being abandoned or left at shelters.

Over the course of four pet pantry events, Edgar says they have helped 907 pets belonging to 266 families by providing pet food, supplies, and care items like tick and flea prevention.

“It is important to me to keep animals where they’re loved already. Some families are struggling to feed themselves as well as their pets, and so we aim to keep animals where they’re already loved so that they don’t end up in the system looking for a home,” Edgar told the Local. “The rescue world is very, very, very overwhelmed with animals that need homes, and we certainly do not need more.”

In May, Familiar Hearts opened its first brick-and-mortar space in Roxborough at 6175 Ridge Ave. While the space focuses on adoption events and pet care classes, Edgar said she hopes to host smaller-scale pantry events more regularly at the location.

Meanwhile, their larger scheduled pantry events have drawn a large host of volunteers and returning pet owners.

Always in need of donations, storage became a recurring issue for the pantry.

“We’re spending way too much every month on the storage we have, which also has a lot of issues. Plus the fact that by January, we will no longer be able to use the space,” Edgar said. “I would love to find a new place that isn’t as expensive and has enough space. We do need quite a bit of room because dog and cat food and litter take up a lot of room.”

With Germantown Boys & Girls Club becoming a recurring host of the pet pantry, Edgar has also partnered with Germantown Community Fridge to give out pet food at their Neighbors Table community meal once a month to attendees who have pets.

They’ve also partnered with Emancipet, a low-cost vet clinic in North Philadelphia, to set up information tables at pantry events to connect attendees with low-cost vet care.

When it comes to donations, Edgar said, “It’s been steady. It’s been wonderful. We get a lot of great support for it. We do still run out, so that is something I would like to continue to expand so that we can serve more people and serve them longer during our events. We’ve gotten a nice response, a lot of generous people.”

With better storage, the pantry could collect more donations. The events tend to drain their supply of pet food and care products.

Typical donated items include dog and cat food, cat litter, flea and tick medication, or monetary donations.

Drop-off locations include Weavers Way Co-op Across the Way, at 610 Carpenter Lane; Fairmount Bark, at 7627 Germantown Ave.; Furville Pet Supplies, at 5226 Ridge Ave; and Two Dog People, at 286 Parker Ave., Unit A.

Anyone interested in donating money can visit givebutter.com/FHASpetpantry.

The Germantown Boys & Girls Club is at 25 West Penn St. The Sept. 26 event will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.