Total Concept Enterprises designed a cookie cutter for St. Francis Homeless Project, increasing efficiency five-fold for the nonprofit organization. Photo by Ben Hensley

Pet owners in Fresno, Clovis and Madera familiar with Dogs Dig ‘Em treats may see a much higher output starting soon after a local manufacturing company took up the mantle to help the nonprofit organization.

Made by St. Francis Homeless Shelter, which provides assistance and rehabilitation for women battling from drug addiction, homelessness and former incarceration, Dogs Dig ‘Em treats are available in more than 140 stores throughout the three cities, including multiple Save Mart locations and other grocery stores.

With the help of Fresno-based Total Concept Enterprises, however, the nonprofit organization hopes its treats are able to reach more local pets, injecting a bit of joy into the Valley’s dog population and cultivating a sense of pride for the nonprofit and its members.

Sandra Kaye, CEO of St. Francis Homeless Shelter, said the need to increase output reached the point where she was actively seeking something to help push up production.

After meeting Liz McIlvaine at a local business breakfast where McIlvaine was a speaker, Kaye said she walked away feeling that production would soon see a boom.

“I told her a little bit about our story and just like that she volunteered to come out and draw, engineer and figure out how to put these big steel sheets together where they actually made those stampers,” Kaye said.

After hearing the story of St. Francis Homeless Project and the work that they do in the community, McIlvaine said she was entirely onboard to take on the project free of charge.

“Once I learned what Sandra does, how could we not be part of this and just support them wherever we can,” she said. “How she’s transforming lives — there’s no price for that.”

The “cookie cutter” design was initially designed by a 3D printer. After testing the piece, McIlvaine realized that they would need something far sturdier to cut through the unique textured dough used for the dog treats.

“It really failed completely,” McIlvaine said. “But that was fun — just going and taking a look at how they do things.”

The company then implemented a second prototype, this time a spring-loaded stamper made of aluminum, capable of increasing output five-fold.

Since its beginning in 2010, St. Francis Homeless Project relied on single-cookie cutters, requiring their employees and volunteers to cut out one dog biscuit at a time. It was tedious work, especially in a shared kitchen space. The nonprofit operates out of the Clovis Culinary Center, which serves as a kitchen incubator to dozens of local startup businesses and nonprofits, as well as residents working large-scale culinary projects.

McIlvaine said the donated project normally would cost a client around $1,600.

“We’re ready to donate ten pieces to begin with,” McIlvaine said. “As they use them and they’re able to see how easy or how difficult [they are to use], we plan to continue to work with them in upgrading them and making the necessary changes just to get them where they need to be.”

Kaye hopes that the increase in production, from a daily output of 3,000 treats to 15,000, will expand the footprint of the already popular dog treats.

This is not the first donation made to the nonprofit organization; Panera Bread donated a machine to the organization that flattens the dough in preparation for the cookie cutting process.

Kaye says now they just need to find a faster bagging process.

“Our dream is to go ahead and more towards taking [our product] in most of the Save Mart stores,” Kaye said. “Obviously the domino effect would be that there will be more jobs.”

Dogs Dig ‘Em dog treats come in 8-ounce bags and are produced entirely by the workforce at the nonprofit organization, primarily staffed by women seeking a new opportunity in life.

“I would like to encourage for more individuals to learn about what they do,” McIlvaine said. “I think once they realize the true impact that it has on our community overall, I think more people like me would be willing to help out.”