HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – The journey has taken Rhonda Eldridge across Hillsborough County. She has put more than 200 miles on her vehicle driving it from home to home to deliver free food to people’s pets.

“People matter and animals matter,” said Eldridge, “and we as a community, we need to know that.”

Eldridge is the president of Community Pet Project, a nonprofit organization that typically caters to the homeless and the at-risk communities. However, due to the coronavirus crisis, she is on a mission to help anyone who asks for it.

“We are trying to deliver a month of food at a time to get through this,” she said.

She has visited a total of 19 families and 49 pets in about one week, bringing food for dogs, cats and, in one case, a ferret.

“It is no different than handing food to a mother or a father that needs to feed their children because these animals are their children,” she said.

Christina Jordan, who has two dogs, contacted Eldridge after she realized she would be faced with a limited income as a result of limited hours on the job.

“We are trying to keep the roof over our head,” said Jordan, “and everything like that, without anything else happening, so it is hard. It is a great thing they are doing.”

The owners of Blueberry, a pit bull, thought they would have to surrender all four of their dogs because they did not have the food to feed them.

“When they don’t have food, how can we be eating?” asked one of the owners, Angel Teran.

Thankfully, Eldridge answered that question for her by providing her and her dogs with plenty of dog food.

“It is a blessing,” said Teran.

If you live in Hillsborough County and you need help feeding your pet, you can contact Eldridge with the Community Pet Project here. You can also make a donation here.

MORE OF SOMETHING GOOD: