Acushnet Man Moves Forward With Helping Pets in Need

On Wednesday, I shared a story about a gentleman from Acushnet who worries for the animals in our community during this tough year and wants to provide a service to help families in need feed their pets. Well, I have some great news to share.

Kenneth Gonsalves has taken matters into his own hands and has set up a food pantry, dedicated to providing all kinds of pet food for struggling pet owners.

Yesterday, Kenneth posted in a local Facebook group about a man who bought one can of cat food with the change in his pocket and couldn’t help but wonder about other owners that might be struggling to feed their pets. Dozens of people responded by saying they would love to jump in and help improve a tough situation.

Kenneth researched but didn’t find many options, so he came up with his own idea.

“We have a vegetable stand that my family has run since 1954, and we’ve decided to make pet food available there," he said. Curly’s Farm on Wing Road is a well-known place, and he hopes to utilize the famous spot to grow attention to his mission.

He discovered that several food pantries sometimes have animal food, but Kenneth said, “it’s way out away from the center of town and it’s not available except on the weekend.” Now, Curly’s Farm will be a safe haven for families that struggle to feed their pets.

He’s received dozens of messages from people looking to donate or participate in some way. SmartPak, a company out of Plymouth, plans to donate 1,200 pounds of dog food this week.

Kenneth is passionate about getting this project running and has reached out to the director of animal control and several other local organizations to form a plan.

“I don’t know where this will go,” he said, "But the main goal is to set up a delivery system to make it more available to the public that needs help.” Kenneth’s biggest challenge right now is getting the word out to the people in need. That’s why I felt it was so important to share his story and his mission with the Fun 107 community.

“It feels good to help people,” Kenneth said. He lives in the small community of Acushnet but is aiming to make a gigantic impact on struggling pet owners.