DF2FM
It was 2009 when Maria Koegl first walked into the world of Don’t Forget to Feed Me (DF2FM). She didn’t just stumble into the nonprofit pet food pantry — she answered it, heart first. Back then, she was working at a veterinary office, juggling the everyday chaos of client calls, routine vaccines, and surprise emergencies. That’s where she met co-founder Terry Woodfin. The two women bonded over a shared urgency: animals were being surrendered in heartbreaking numbers as families struggled to stay afloat in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
“People were having to decide where to cut costs,” Koegl recalls. “And sometimes, that meant giving up their pets.”
Don't Forget to Feed Me Executive Director, Maria Koegl.
Terry and fellow founder Kim Pearson had launched DF2FM as a small initiative through the Tarrant Area Food Bank. But when they realized no one in North Texas was tackling the pet food problem full-time, they formed their own nonprofit in 2011. That same year, Koegl was already hard at work behind the scenes. First, as a volunteer office manager, she helped name and shape the now-annual Hot & Hungry and Cold & Hungry fundraisers. She eventually became the organization’s first Steering Committee Chair in 2013.
Titles changed. Her commitment didn’t.
From Secretary to Vice President to Operations Manager, Koegl just kept stepping up. By 2022, she was the Director. In 2024, the board gave her the title that finally fit: Executive Director.
Now she leads a staff of three—yes, three—who are somehow managing to distribute more than 400,000 pounds of pet food a year to families across North Texas. It’s meticulous work. Every can and bag that comes in is vetted for recalls, expiration dates, and nutritional value. Prescription diets are flagged and reviewed with a veterinarian before being rerouted to the Humane Society, where staff vets can safely distribute them.
“If I wouldn’t feed it to my own pet,” Koegl says, “I’m not going to hand it off to someone else.”
The mission is as pragmatic as it is emotional. DF2FM isn’t a pantry that hands out food directly. It's a bank — supplying dozens of local pantries, vet clinics, and community organizations so that pet food can be bundled alongside human food, no extra trips required. It’s one less burden for people already in crisis. And it’s a barrier removed for someone deciding whether they can afford to keep their animal.
Every year, Koegl and her team face impossible choices. Do they stretch the budget to hire a desperately needed fourth staffer, or funnel those dollars into pet food for the growing waitlist of partners?
“It was an easy call,” she says. “We chose the pets.”
This month, DF2FM is taking part in North Texas Gives to Animals, a fundraising campaign organized by Communities Foundation of Texas. From May 15 – 31, donations made online at northtexasgivingday.org/animals2025 will be matched dollar for dollar — up to $500 per donor, per organization — until $100,000 in matching funds run out.
Cat food is especially needed. Koegl points out that while donations skew heavily toward dogs, demand for cat food never lets up. “Every month, we never have enough cat food. Never.”
Long-term, Koegl dreams of more pet food banks, not just in Fort Worth but across the Metroplex—maybe even statewide. She’s already fielded calls from folks in Dallas asking how to get started. Her team is ready to mentor anyone who wants to replicate the model.
“In a perfect world, nobody has to choose between feeding themselves or their pets,” she says. “But until that world exists, I want people to know — we’re here. We see you. And you don’t have to give up the one thing that still loves you when everything else falls apart.”
