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Board proclaims September as National Service Dog Month and recognizes Atascadero Loaves & Fishes Day
Summary
The board formally proclaimed September 2024 as National Service Dog Month and declared Sept. 10 as AL Food Pantry Day, highlighting local volunteer efforts, service‑dog placements and the ALF food pantry's recent operational statistics and needs.
At its Sept. 10 meeting the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors adopted two community proclamations: one designating September 2024 as National Service Dog Month and another honoring Atascadero Loaves & Fishes (ALF) with a day of recognition.
Supervisor Ortiz read the service‑dog resolution, which cited national estimates and praised Canine Companions and Guide Dogs of the Desert for training and placing dogs for people with disabilities. Vera Hegler, a local puppy raiser with Canine Companions, described recent placements and the pipeline of puppies in training and thanked the board for recognizing the program.
On the food‑pantry proclamation, an ALF representative accepted the honor and described the pantry’s volunteer model (more than 100 volunteers, no paid employees), recent distribution totals from the resolution language (the staff report cited more than 578,000 pounds distributed in 2023), and operating costs. The speaker said ALF sometimes served as many as 71 clients in one day and currently spends about $12,000 a month to purchase food when donations and rescues do not meet need.
Supervisors thanked volunteers and said the proclamations underscore county efforts on inclusion, disability access and food security. Board members committed to sharing the film presentation and outreach materials the groups provided.
