Retired chef provides fresh food for homeless pets
A month ago, as the cold rain of winter was beginning to shift into frame, with the fortunate retreating to their homes, Samaya (who asks that her last name be withheld) was running errands when she noticed a person on the street with his two dogs — all shivering, damp and miserable. She says she knew she could not walk by and so gave what she immediately could: a beach towel, some money and soup. But she anguished for the dogs, who required something more. As she went about her day, she couldn’t shake the thought that there was more she could do. She searched for the man and eventually found him, she says, giving him jackets for his dogs as well as some dry dog food. The experience made her think perhaps her talents could be used to improve the lives of dogs such as these across Northern Humboldt.
Originally a self-described “Maine-iac,” Samaya’s professional calling led her across the country to the University of California Berkeley campus, where she studied nutritional science. For much of her career, she worked as a professional chef in California, cooking for people with specific dietary needs as well as serving students in the Santa Barbara Unified School District. She describes bouncing around a bit, first to the Bay Area to work in IT for a time, becoming “bored and obsolete,” and changing careers once more to enter the world of winemaking at Napa Valley College. A stint in Arcata here, some food articles there, an adventure in Hawaii, and now she has returned to Humboldt County with a new purpose and vision. “I’m all about the dogs,” she says, smiling.
Out of her own kitchen, and her own pocket, Samaya is making fresh dog food from local ingredients for homeless pets. She begins by baking pumpkin, squash, or yams before separately cooking rice or oats, and a batch of apple sauce from scratch. Then she prepares the protein — turkey, elk, fish pieces, or beef scraps — taking care to cut away the fat in order to use the most nutrient-dense part of the animal before cooking. All these ingredients are mixed together into a mash, packaged and labeled on the morning of delivery. She spends up to four hours before each delivery preparing between 20 and 25 servings of food with the utmost consideration for dog health.
While dogs can eat some human food, Samaya says many foods are toxic to dogs, like alliums, grapes, avocados, macadamia nuts, sweeteners and alcohol. High-fiber foods can be very difficult for them to digest as well. Notably, she says, “most dry dog food is highly processed, heated to 400 degrees,” which can affect the food’s nutritional value. A balanced meal can mean the difference between sickness and health for a dog. These meals can improve the quality of life for homeless dogs and support the longevity of the bond between pet and pet owner.
The Humboldt Area Center for Harm Reduction, known for its work providing compassionate overdose prevention tools and basic resources to the local homeless population, has generously offered to help her distribute meals on Mondays in Arcata and Thursdays in Eureka. Bobby Villasenor, an outreach coordinator with the organization, emphasizes that the people HACHR supports “aren’t able to get their basic needs met” on their own, so Samaya’s work is very impactful. “And the dogs love it,” he says. From firsthand experience delivering the meals weekly, he remarks homeless folks with pets really appreciate it.
Though Samaya enjoys this work, it is not without difficulty for someone who is retired and lives on social security to provide these meals twice a week. Samaya is hoping for assistance from anyone who can offer it, whether in the form of a couple hours in a commercial kitchen, a used freezer or grill, donations of takeout containers or donations of fresh ingredients. She has considered crowdfunding but says she doesn’t have experience setting something up on her own. (Those interested in donating resources can email Samayaj@yahoo.com.) The stakes of her operation are higher, “heading into winter, which is colder and wetter,” she says.
Samaya is focused on the work of feeding the canine companions of homeless people. She says, “The dogs love it and I’m very happy to do this.”
Sasha Senal (she/they) is a writer, environmental educator and aspiring farmer. She can be found exploring Humboldt forests (not unlike her home redwoods on the Sonoma Coast) and considering Black eco-feminism.
This article appears in Free Food!.