Tosca Hieftje, a local attorney, has made it her mission to make sure everybody has enough food on their tables. She is involved in several volunteer organizations, and they’re “all about food,” she said.
That’s why, when she noticed some food pantries have pet food — albeit a limited supply — and that families who are financially struggling were giving up their pets to shelters, she wanted to do something about it.
She sprung into action and collaborated with St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Southside Birmingham to create the St. Clare Pet Pantry, a volunteer-led effort to gather food for dogs, cats and birds belonging to families who are struggling to care for them. The new pantry will work in tandem with the existing food pantry out of St. Andrew’s…