Bella’s Pantry opened in December 2014. For 11 years our volunteers have weathered heat, cold, rain, a pandemic, and yet they always came through. We gave what we could to help the animals in Lytle and the surrounding communities.
Through the years our numbers have increased. We have always done our best to meet the demand. We served usually 70 plus cars each month. Pet owners from Lytle, LaCoste, Castroville, Devine, Natalia, Bigfoot, Hondo, Atascosa, Von Ormy and Somerset were regulars at the Pantry. We loved seeing the people and sometimes their sweet pets.
Recently we have struggled to obtain food to give out. Many non-profits, such as we are, have seen the donations dramatically decrease. Without the donations we cannot continue.
Lytle Animal Allies board made the decision to close Bella’s Pantry and Lytle Animal Care and Control agreed to the decision.
Bella’s Pantry would not have been possible without dedicated volunteers who came together 11 years ago to make life easier for pets and their people.
Phyllis Parra, Miriam Garcia, and Ernie Kroeger were there from the start. Throughout the years we have had help from Santiago Morantez, Rachel Faish, Lorena Gorum, Daniel Garcia, Irene Robbins, Kathryn Jones, Liz White, Melinda Flores, Austin Stornelli, Ruben Gonzalez, and Ruben Gonzalez III. There are not enough words to express how grateful we are for these amazing people showing up to give back.
Bella’s Pantry received donations from Pam and Frank Wanjura, Pam Harris, Valerie Worthington, Carol Lumley Spock, HEB, San Antonio Humane Society, San Antonio Food Bank and so many others who would drop off a bag of food.
This was a hard decision to make. We hope you can understand how much this pantry meant to us also. We were privileged to give as we know our pet owners were thankful to receive.
Our last Bella’s Pantry will be held on December 27th. We will be open 7:30 AM to 8:30 AM.
Lytle Animal Allies
Ward Sanders, President
Lorena Gorum, Vice-President
and Betty Kroeger, Secretary/Treasurer
Bella’s Pantry will be closing, last day is December 27, 2025
