A new donation-based program is aiming to provide food stamps for pets of low income families who may not be able to afford to feed their pets.

The program, called Pet Food Stamps, is based out of New York and it's open to anyone in the United States. 

How it works is once the need and income is verified, the families will receive pet food each month from pet food direct, for a six month period.

Local experts say this is a great option for struggling pet owners.  "A lot of pet owners aren't able to afford food especially with the hard economic times that we've had, sometimes pets get put back to the back burner, so it's a really good option for people who can not afford pet food for their dogs," said Kourtni Weinischke from Tiara Rado Animal Hospital.

The only way to apply for the program is through the online application. Here's a link to that application:    https://petfoodstamps.org/