The Oakland Zoo benefits from a diverse array of donated goods, food and vehicles from individuals, community groups and companies. Your donations help keep our animal commissary stocked with tasty food and fun "toys" for our animals. Using these toys, or enrichment, contributes to a healthy animal by keeping their minds active and engaged.
We work with many partners, including grocery stores, wholesale butchers, and produce vendors. If you would like to set up a recurring donation, please email our Commissary Department.
Oakland Zoo also partners with Charitable Adult Rides & Services (CARS) to process vehicle donations that generate ongoing funding to support our work. Learn more »
Just like we try to make sure our visitors have fun at the Zoo, we strive to keep our animals happy and engaged. We give each animal customized treats and toys, or enrichment, to keep their minds and bodies active. Oakland Zoo has created an Amazon Wish List with a detailed list of items our animals would like to have that you can purchase on our behalf. Remember, the sizes of many of these enrichment items are much larger than regular pet toys.
Produce and bakery goods are used to feed our animals as well as for certain enrichment activities. We will take any produce items that are relatively fresh, except for onions (green onions and leeks are okay), limes, lemons, and herbs. Remember that animals don't care about bruises! Produce doesn't have to look good for them to eat it. We'll also take bread and bakery items, dried fruit, nuts and cereals. Please, no rotten or moldy foods.
For more information on produce and bakery donations please contact the Commissary Department at commissary@oaklandzoo.org.
We would love to accept your pumpkin donations! We do not pick up pumpkins -- please deliver them directly to the zoo. We will accept the pumpkins seven days a week from 10am-3pm. When you arrive, a security guard will direct you where to go. Here are guidelines for what we accept:
-Uncarved
-Unpainted/marked on
-No rotten spots or cracks (these pumpkins spoil really fast)
-Any size is ok, from mini to large
-Any species is ok, including gourds
If you have a large quantity of pumpkins either in a trailer/truck or in large boxes, please call 510-632-9525 X250 in advance to see if the donation can be accepted.
We do have a limit of how many pumpkins we accept, so we will only be accepting pumpkins for a limited time starting November 1st. Once we hit our capacity we will no longer accept pumpkins. Unless you have a very specific question that is not answered on our website, there is no need to call ahead. Public safety will be at the main gate when you first drive in to direct you where to go.
Tree branches (browse) are also used as food and/or toys (enrichment) by many of our animals. At this time we are not picking up from residential households, but we are accepting deliveries of edible branches. We do not accept individual Christmas Trees, as we work with Christmas Tree lots directly to receive their leftovers.
Please consider these tree companies for your tree removal needs, as they have been working with the zoo for over ten years delivering tree branches for the animals directly to the zoo! Since it is time consuming for our keepers to pick the branches up, we much prefer to work with companies who are willing and able to deliver.
Garcia Professional Tree Service: (510) 915-0201
Buena Vista Tree Service: (925) 449-1203
Luis’s Tree Service: (510) 575-5667
Duda Tree Service: (510) 531-5261
Miguel Terra Petra Gardens: (510) 205-9647
Green Terra Tree Service: (510) 436-5403
Torogoz Landscaping LLC: (510) 575-8694
Click here for a complete list of Frequently Asked Questions about browse donations.
Oakland Zoo
(510) 632-9525
Mail: P.O. Box 5238 Oakland, CA 94605
Visit: 9777 Golf Links Road Oakland, CA 94605
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