Animal lovers will have a chance to help San Diego City College employees bring meals not only to needy seniors and the homeless, but to their pets as well.

San Diego City College’s Classified Senate, which is akin to the Associated Student Government only for the school’s employees, will be accepting dog and cat food, treats, and any quart or gallon sized ziploc bags in BT-215 on Dec. 20. All donations must be unopened, unexpired, and non-prescription.

Classified employees are the backbone of public schools, they’re the janitors, maintenance technicians, food services, office workers, and more. This year they’ve decided to help AniMeals, an arm of Meals On Wheels that serves the pets of the same humans that Meals On Wheels does.

AniMeals was founded in 1984 when a San Diego-based Meals On Wheels volunteer noticed her client had no access to pet food, and was hence feeding her cats the same food she had just delivered to the client.

Realizing that pet food was a gap in Meals On Wheels services, the volunteer informed Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe just east of Del Mar.

Almost 40 years later, AniMeals serves over 250 pets a week, delivering roughly 3,000 pounds per month of pet food to people with disabilities and homebound seniors.