Nonpro t
BY VALERIA ESCOBAR
Sisters Shefali and Maya Desai have long been active members of the Fort Bend County community.
VALERIA ESCOBAR COMMUNITY IMPACT
In December, Asha’s Food Bank organized donation drives at drives at Don Cook Natatorium, Clements High School, and Fort Settlement Middle School.
Food has been donated to various animal shelters.
COURTESY ASHA’S FOOD BANK
COURTESY ASHA’S FOOD BANK
Asha’s Food Bank provides food to animal shelters
Pet food drop-o locations 1 Animal Hospital Highway 6 : 3429 Hwy. 6, Sugar Land
3 Bissonnet Veterinary Hospital : 2715 Bissonnet St., Ste. 250, Houston 2 Sugar Land Veterinary Specialists & Emergency Care: 1515 Lake Pointe Parkway, Sugar Land 4 Oyster Creek Animal Hospital: 1218 Museum Square Drive, Sugar Land
300 pounds of dog and cat food to shelters across the Houston area. “Essentially, it’s kind of like running a business,” Maya Desai said. “I learned a lot about how I cope with obstacles.” Zooming out Their work has led them to meet community members that represent the diversity of the area outside of their neighborhoods, Shefali Desai said. “I think a big part [of my volunteering experi- ence] is seeing the di erent walks of life that are in our community. I think especially living in Fort Bend [County] and Sugar Land, it’s easy to kind of have a very narrow viewpoint on everything,” Shefali Desai said.
One conversation with their mother opened Shefali and Maya Desai’s eyes to an opportunity to start their own initiative to bring pet food to the county’s overpopulated animal shelters. Dr. Erica Desai, who is the medical director of Bissonnet Veterinary Hospital, told her daughters clients would bring in unused food when their pets passed away. How it happened Shefali and Maya Desai, age 16 and 14 respec- tively, founded Asha’s Food Bank in November. The nonpro t takes its namesake from their dog, Asha, a female chihuahua mix they adopted in 2020. They have since organized drives at community centers and veterinarian o ces to deliver nearly
WILLIAMS TRACE BLVD.
LAKE POINTE PKWY.
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59
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SETTLERS WAY BLVD.
MUSEUM SQUARE DR.
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BISSONNET ST.
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www.ashasfoodbank.org
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SUGAR LAND MISSOURI CITY EDITION
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