The news coming out of Detroit continues to get worse and worse. Earlier this month, Detroit’s Water and Sewerage Department announced it would turn off water to thousands of Detroiters who are unable to pay their water bills. The announcement sparked a wave of protests, and the department agreed on Monday to suspend the mass shutoffs for another 15 days.

In the meantime, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals has offered its own plan to help deal with the crisis: The animal rights group will pay the water bills of 10 Detroit families—as long as they go vegan.

Detroit residents at a rally last week protesting mass water shutoffs in the city. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

Thanks to an anonymous donor, PETA will also give each family a basket of vegan food.

“The last thing that people who are struggling need is increased health-care costs,” PETA wrote on its blog yesterday. “By accepting our offer to go vegan, not only will families be getting an immediate financial boost and helping animals, if they stick with it, they’ll also lower their risk of obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and strokes.”

To be sure, there are other ways to support Detroit’s low-income families without imposing veganism on them.

The Detroit Water Project, for instance, has established an emergency relief effort that allows residents to crowdfund water bills to help keep the spigots running.

And a group of Detroit residents recently filed a lawsuit against the city in U.S. bankruptcy court, claiming that the water shutdown violates their constitutional rights.