By Agrippina Fadel
In a rare display of complete solidarity, the Tamarac city commission approved adding pet food and care products to the city pantry and social services.
Mayor Michelle Gomez brought the issue to her colleagues’ attention, saying that people often share their food with their animals and then go hungry in difficult situations.
“I do food distributions weekly at the Korean United Methodist Church, and sometimes we have pet products to give out. When we don’t have them, people ask about them,” Gomez said, adding that she hopes Tamarac can find a way to “start helping our fur babies.”
Vice Mayor Marlon Bolton agreed with Gomez and said the city “should already have been doing it.”
“As a good gesture, I will buy $700 worth of pet food and donate it to the pantry, and we all know where that $700 will come from,” Bolton said, seemingly alluding to the controversial travel allowance that all commission members receive.
During the public comments, Sunflower-Heathgate resident Nicole Bushue applauded Gomez’s initiative, saying that making pet food and cat litter readily available “helps animals greatly.”
“I used to work for Animal Care and Control, and one of the biggest issues we had, when we were at max capacity, was that when times were tough, people could not afford to feed their animals [and had to surrender them],” Bushue said, adding that there are currently only two places in the Broward county (Good Karma and The Pet Project) that have pet pantries. They are both far east and may not be accessible for low-income residents.
The initiative got complete consensus from the commission, and Gomez asked City Manager Kathleen Gunn to implement necessary measures. Food Pantry Final 9-14-21
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