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Resident urges county action after blizzard, cites lack of animal sheltering and SNAP gaps
Summary
Margaret Brown told commissioners that the recent blizzard exposed gaps in animal sheltering contracts and SNAP distributions, described personally distributing milk and butter to families, and urged visible county leadership and outreach to help residents access local food banks.
Margaret Brown, a Marquette resident who gave her address during public comment, used her allotted time to press the board on three issues: attendance by a board appointee, inadequate formal plans for animal sheltering during emergencies, and a lapse in SNAP benefits that she says left residents without basic groceries.
Brown said a private church — "Love Marquette" in her remarks — became the only local shelter willing to accept animals during the recent snowstorm and argued that the county lacks formal contracts with boarding facilities. "You have to have contracts in place so that they will agree to staff and have arrangements made," she said, arguing that relying on informal agreements creates a recurring risk in future emergencies.
Brown also described stepping in to donate milk and butter when SNAP benefits were unavailable for several weeks: she recounted placing three gallons of milk and three pounds of butter for a mother with three children and said the woman began to cry with relief. Brown urged commissioners to use their platforms — social media and interviews — to remind residents about food‑bank resources, and warned the board that the problem "is not going away."
