Citizen of the Week Lewis Oien keeping pets fed

While volunteering at the Mount Si Helping Hand Food Bank, Snoqualmie resident Lewis Oien would hear requests for pet food. The food bank was sometimes able to supply a small bag of it, but it didn’t go very far.

Oien, an animal lover and former cat owner, wanted pets to have more.

“We like to watch Animal Planet on TV, and the biggest abuse of animals is to starve them to death, because they can’t afford to feed them,” he said.

A few months ago, Oien called the Humane Society in Bellevue and learned that they have a warehouse full of donated food just waiting to be distributed to needy pet owners.

The first month of the pet food bank, Oien took requests from 17 food bank patrons for pet food, and drove to Bellevue to pick up about 300 pounds of food —?five pounds each for cats, 10 for dogs. The initial haul fit in his trunk, but it was a tight squeeze.

“I thought, ‘Boy, if we get much more, we’re going to have to do something different,’” he said with a laugh.

Sure enough, the number of orders has more than quadrupled over the summer —?he’s now serving about 100 people with the monthly program, and has recruited community members with trucks to help him haul the food.

He said he wouldn’t mind having another cat since his passed away, but he might not have time with his new food bank project.

“It keeps growing and growing,” he said.

The most time-consuming part of the project is calling to remind the 100-plus patrons the day before pick-up at the food bank.

He’s happy to make the effort.

“I think the people really appreciate it, to be able to have something for their animals. We don’t ask people what their income is; we just say, ‘Do you need it?’ We’ll give it to you, as long as we’ve got supplies of it,” he said.

Helping Hand Food Bank Director Gail Gergasko praised Oien’s initiative.

“He just took it and went with it. It’s been a godsend. We like to give out pet food, because then our patrons aren’t giving their food to their pets. So everybody gets fed. It’s a wonderful thing,” she said.

•?For more information about the pet food bank, talk to Lewis Oien during Mount Si Helping Hand Food Bank distribution on Wednesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The food bank is located at 126 E. Third St. in North Bend.

• Do you know Valley residents who deserve recognition for their good work? Nominate them for Citizen of the Week, an award co-sponsored by the Valley Record and Replicator Graphics. Send your ideas to editor@valleyrecord.com, or call (425) 888-2311.

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