Introducing the Dog Food Fund with Scratch Pet Food

The Challenge of Meat Supply Chains

Australia’s regional meat supply chain is under growing pressure. Many small- and medium-scale abattoirs have closed or stopped offering “service kills” leaving regenerative and ethical livestock farmers with few options to process their animals locally. Without accessible, transparent, and community-scaled processing infrastructure, farmers face long travel distances, higher costs, and less control over their products - all of which undermine animal welfare and farm viability.

Meanwhile, consumers struggle to trace where their meat comes from. The centralised food system has made it increasingly difficult to access fresh, locally produced meat, and regional towns have seen a steady decline in small butcher shops.

This challenge is explored in Sustainable Table’s Abattoir Crisis article and our Ethical Meat Processing Guide, as well as in our four-part webinar series, including localised infrastructure and farmer-led processing solutions in partnership with AFSA. Strengthening regional processing is essential to a fairer, more transparent, and more resilient food system.

Introducing the Dog Food Fund

The Dog Food Fund is an innovative collaboration between Scratch Pet Food and Sustainable Table, born from shared values and a deep commitment to building a better food future for all. The Dog Food Fund supports projects making the pet food supply chain more sustainable, local and regenerative. We’re looking to fund ethical, small scale, farmer-led projects that provide the pet food industry with a regenerative alternative to conventionally raised and mass produced meat and plant-based proteins.

Scratch, a certified B Corporation and member of 1% for the Planet, sought a way to meaningfully contribute to systemic food change in the pet food industry. When they discovered Sustainable Table’s work supporting regenerative agriculture and ethical meat systems, the alignment was clear. Together, we designed a fund that directly supports farmers, butchers, and processors working to rebuild local, ethical meat and plant-based protein supply chains that benefit both human and pet food systems.

Through the Dog Food Fund, Scratch and Sustainable Table seek to help regenerative farmers and processors develop solutions that ultimately support better food systems like micro-abattoirs, cooperative processing models, and localised supply chain infrastructure.

In its first year, in 2025, the Dog Food Fund supported Kerrupjmara Meats, with their mobile butcher project based in western Victoria. Kerrupjmara Meats project aims to provide a critical link for local regenerative livestock producers who otherwise face long transport distances and limited access to processing. Their innovative, community-based model demonstrates what’s possible when local infrastructure is designed by and for farmers, keeping value, skills, and accountability within the region.

We’re currently wrapping up our second year of the Scratch Pet Food Dog Fund, and we’re thrilled to be supporting several strong projects, which we will announce soon.

Why it matters

Rebuilding regional meat processing capacity is one of the most urgent - and overlooked - needs in Australia’s food system. Decades of centralisation have left small farmers with few fair or affordable options to process their animals, eroding local resilience and transparency.

At the same time, the pet food industry has been dominated by a handful of global giants. Behind the glossy packaging lies a reality of ground-up mystery meat, filler ingredients, and heavy plastic bags - products with little traceability and often low-quality. Scratch Petfood was founded to change that: create high-quality Australian-made dog food that’s better for pets, the planet and animals, and the people who produce it.

Through the Dog Food Fund, Scratch and ST support the rebuilding of local, transparent, farmer-led processing systems. These investments keep value in regional economies, reduce transport emissions, and ensure animals are processed humanely and close to where they’re raised - improving animal welfare and lowering stress at slaughter. Localised systems also minimise waste by shortening supply chains and enabling full ‘nose-to-tail’ utilisation.

Localised systems also play a vital role in minimising waste across the meat supply chain. By shortening supply routes and creating opportunities for full carcass ‘nose to tail’ utilisation, smaller-scale, community-based processors can reduce wastage and make better use of every animal.

Philanthropy and values-aligned corporate partnerships like this are critical to bridging the gap between vision and viability - helping farmers, processors, and food hubs lead the shift toward a fairer, regionalised, and more humane food system that works for people, animals, and the planet.

Join us

If you’re a funder or philanthropist, we invite you to join us in strengthening regional meat systems. Your contribution can help regenerative farmers, butchers, and processors create localised, humane, and community-owned solutions.

If you’re a consumer, you can support this change every day by choosing ethical pet food from Scratch - a company committed to transparency, sustainability, and giving back.

If you’re a food retailer, chef, or hospitality business, you can also play a vital role by sourcing ethically produced and locally processed meat. Explore Sustainable Table’s resources like our Ethical Meat Processing Guide and Regenerative Food and Farming Map, and other great resources like Discover Regenerative, to connect with transparent, regenerative supply chains and support the farmers and processors leading this change.

And if you’re a farmer or processor working in this space, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to Sustainable Table to learn how we can collaborate on building a fairer, more localised food system together.

Together, we can rebuild the infrastructure that makes truly regenerative, ethical meat possible - from paddock to plate (or dog bowl!)