Staring into the big, beautiful eyes of a giraffe as they reach out for a piece of lettuce with their long tongue. Feeling the swift brush of a stingray as they eat a piece of fish from the palm of your hand. Watching a goat nibble, trying to get every last pellet from between your fingers. Every single day the Fort Wayne Zoo is filled with delicious memories served up by the Commissary Team.
From the cups of feed given to guests at a Chicken Feeding to the fishy treats eaten by the penguins on Penguin Beach, Commissary is to thank for the food consumed by all 1,500 animals at the Zoo. Although each animal has their own specific diet and needs, the fish-loving friends require the most food prep with over 100 pounds of seafood prepared for them every single day. Throughout the entire year, Commissary prepares about 2,400 pounds of carrots, 3,470 pounds of apples, 26,000 pounds of greens, and 32,000 pounds of capelin during the whole year!
The Commissary crew is a tiny but mighty team of four. Along with preparing carefully proportioned animal diets, the Commissary crew also helps bring fun, food-based enrichment ideas to life! While guests may view ice treats, or “birthday cakes,” hidden foods, and other activities as just fun treats, this type of enrichment is designed to encourage exploration and stimulation so guests can observe the natural behaviors of animals.
To further support these efforts, in 2024 we had 16 Zoo volunteers spend a collective 600 hours cutting, splicing, and dicing to assist the Commissary team however they could. The next time you hear a lion’s roar or a penguin’s squawk, it may be safe to assume they are giving their compliments to the skilled Commissary Team and the dedicated Zoo Volunteers for their yummy meals.