Rachael Ray's Pet Food Brand to Donate 4 Million Meals to Pets Affected by Coronavirus Pandemic

The effort comes just a few days after the celebrity chef pledged to donate an additional $4 million to COVID-19 relief

Photo: The View/Twitter

Rachael Ray is making sure everyone’s four-legged family members are cared for amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

On Thursday, the celebrity chef appeared on The View via video call to discuss her recent donation to support COVID-19 relief efforts and announced another major contribution she is making, this time with her furry friends in mind.

Ray, 51, shared that her pet food company, Rachael Ray Nutrish, will be donating 4 million meals to pets to ensure companion animals stay well fed during this time of uncertainty.

The donation will be made through GreaterGood.org, she explained, which will provide the donated food to animal shelters and families who are struggling to feed their pets.

The donated pet meals will also go to Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen, which continues to receive requests for extra pet food, according to a press release.

Making sure that a pet has enough food to eat lessens the chance that a family will have to surrender their animal to a shelter.

The chef added that she hopes the donation will help to “keep families together, without only their humans, but their four-legged family members too.”

On Tuesday, the talk show host announced she would be donating $4 million to COVID-19 relief efforts through her two charities, The Rachael Ray Foundation and Yum-o!.

Her show’s staff revealed the donation in an article on their website and explained that the money will be allocated to a group of existing, previously-vetted organizations. According to the post, the donations are “earmarked” to help fund critically necessary food and services through a network of organizations across the country.

As such, the $2 million of Yum-o! aligned donations will focus on feeding and nutritional programs like Feeding America and World Central Kitchen, while the $2 million from The Rachael Ray Foundation will support animal welfare programs, including Best Friends Animal Society and Big Dog Ranch.

“My overall goal with these donations is to support American families affected during the COVID-19 crisis with assistance for two-legged and four-legged family members,” Ray said in the article. “We felt it was important to help offset the decline in donations organizations have experienced, from a combination of the cancelation of fundraising events and reduced private donations.”

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