PET OWNERS ARE SUSPECTED at Van Buskirk Park in Stockton on Tuesday morning as volunteers from the Stockton Animal Shelter distributed free pet food.
Beginning during the pandemic near the Stockton Shelter for the Homeless, animal shelter volunteers distributed free dog and cat food to pet owners.
Volunteers Darryl Carter, Mary Komure, Ruthie Sims, Rita Brown and Martha Moreno now set up a pantry at Van Buskirk on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month.
Carter said about 150 to 200 cars come in for the pantry each hour.
“We ask them how many dogs and cats they have and feed them accordingly,” Komure said. “We have many repeaters every month, and they are very grateful.”
Komure said the shelter accepts donations from all over, including Amazon and Safeway. “We get the majority of our donations from Safeway,” he added.
Among the pet owners who came by looking for pet food were some homeless people who walked from the homeless shelter to the park.
“Bless you guys for doing this,” said Alexander Jones, a homeless man, who received bags of kibble and wet food along with leashes and a blanket for his two pit bulls.
Harika Maddala is a Stockton-based photojournalist covering San Joaquin County for the Bay City News Foundation and its nonprofit news site Local News Matters. They are a Report for America corps member and a CatchLight Local Fellow.
