TACOMA, Wash. — Families in Pierce County may have to make a difficult decision in the coming weeks.
Do they purchase food for themselves? Or do they buy food for their pets to keep them alive?
That’s the reality for many as a Tacoma pet food bank is on the brink of shutting down.
KIRO 7 spoke with the owners, who say their supplies are running dangerously low.
An entire shelf is not often enough to help families coming here in a single day, and the owner says that without pet food, some families may have to surrender their loved ones.
“It’s really hard to think about the fact that we may not be able to continue to do what we’ve always done in the past,” said Deedee Howe, President of Puget Sound Pet Food Bank.
She says the nonprofit simply can’t keep up with the number of families who need the help – and donations are not keeping up.
Now they’re planning on shutting down the nonprofit in Tacoma and consolidating to their Spanaway location.
“We have to make a decision, are we buying food? Or are we paying rent, and right now, all the money is going to buy food,” she says.
But for many people in Tacoma like Elizabeth Harris, this move could force some people to go hungry too.
“I’ll have to go without food so I can feed them because they’re more important to me,” said Harris, “I’m low-income and I’m a senior citizen and my income is limited. So I really depend on them here being close to where I live. I can’t imagine going to Spanaway. I won’t be able to go.”
This issue is not isolated to just this food bank.
Shelters like the Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County are dealing with the same issue, where just back in September, the shelter was running dangerously low on pet food.
To keep this pet food bank up and running, many are urging the public’s help to not only save this place, but also their furry loved ones.
“It makes me feel really sad because they help so much. People don’t understand how much they help,” said Harris.
The pet food bank is scheduled to close on December 28.
If you’d like to help, visit their website at: pugetsoundpetfoodbank.org