News & Updates

“The Ohio Association of Foodbanks applauds Governor Mike DeWine for signing Ohio Senate Bill 315 into law. This legislation will enable important fraud protections that will save taxpayer dollars and protect low-income Ohioans. Through gradual implementation of SNAP EBT card modernization, Ohio will adopt a proven technology solution to prevent organized criminals from continuing to defraud Ohio families to the tune of millions of dollars. On behalf of Ohio’s foodbanks and the 650,000 Ohio households that turn to SNAP for help meeting their monthly food needs, we thank Governor DeWine and the 136th Ohio General Assembly for this important legislation.

The Ohio Association of Foodbanks applauds the Ohio General Assembly for passing important fraud protections that will save taxpayer dollars and protect low-income Ohioans. We want to especially thank Senators Tim Schaffer and Hearcel Craig for their sponsorship of Sub. Senate Bill 315 and Representatives Kellie Deeter and Tristan Rader for their sponsorship of Am. House Bill 163. These bipartisan, bicameral leaders worked with a sense of urgency, alongside Senate President McColley, Speaker Huffman, Senate Finance leadership including Chair Cirino, Vice Chair Chavez, and Ranking Member Hicks-Hudson, House Agriculture leadership including Chair Klopfenstein, Vice Chair Newman, and Ranking Member Miller, and House Finance leadership including Chair Stewart, Vice Chair Dovilla, and Ranking Member Sweeney, to see this critical effort through to the finish line.

“The Ohio Association of Foodbanks and our members are grateful to Senator Husted for his co-sponsorship of the Delivering for Rural Seniors Act. Ohio’s foodbanks, in partnership with USDA and the State of Ohio, proudly operate CSFP to connect about 30,000 seniors with nourishing staple foods every month. This legislation would help us make sure that seniors in need, especially those in rural Ohio, where service delivery is often more challenging, can have healthy food, and hope, delivered to their doorstep. We look forward to partnering with Senator Husted on this impactful bill,” said Joree Novotny, executive director, Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

Ohio will become only the second state to issue electronic benefits cards to SNAP or food stamp recipients with computer chips in them, after Gov. Mike DeWine signed a law requiring that this week. And it’s something advocates for low-income Ohioans have long pushed for.

Senate Bill 315, known as the Enhanced Cybersecurity for SNAP Act, passed unanimously in the Senate and eight Democrats and two Republicans in the House voting against it.

SNAP cards have been susceptible to skimming devices installed at food retailers by criminals trying to steal benefits, said Ohio Association of Food Banks Executive Director Joree Novotny. She said Ohio's cards are more than a decade behind other payment technology.

"They're magnetic strip cards, and they're very susceptible to fraud unfortunately," Novotny said. "So we've had tens of thousands of Ohio households that have been victimized by criminal fraudsters and had their benefits stolen because those cards aren't secure."

She said not only are Ohio's cards not as secure as those with chips, there's no way to recover benefits after they are stolen.

One year ago, the Republican “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” made the largest cuts to food stamps in the history of the program. Now 100,000 Ohioans are going without help and the state is bracing for enormous new costs without federal help.

The Trump/Republican spending law made the largest cuts ever to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is largely used by children, older adults, and those with disabilities.

The cuts to SNAP have impacted millions of in-need Americans.

Deer season is popular as a sport, a resource for protein and an attempt to control a wildlife population that can be damaging to crops in Ohio fields.

Finding a place for all the venison harvested to go is another challenge, one that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife worked to ease through last year’s Deer Donation pilot program.

“Many hunters don’t meet their tag allotment because processing one deer is usually enough for their needs,” said Jonathan Sorg with ODNR Division of Wildlife. “Hunters are conservationists and often don’t have a use for more, and processing and donating the meat can be cost-prohibitive.”

The Deer Donation program encourages hunters to “responsibly harvest additional antlerless deer to help maintain healthy deer populations and reduce numbers in areas where deer may exceed the land’s capacity,” said Kassie Mitchell, District One manager at the ODNR Division of Wildlife.

Ohio Food Recovery’s 2025 Impact Report addresses the issue of food waste, defined as safe, edible food that is discarded instead of eaten. This waste occurs at many points across the food system, including homes, farms, grocery stores, restaurants, and manufacturing facilities. Common causes include produce that does not meet cosmetic standards, food nearing sell‑by or expiration dates, overproduction, and rejected or distressed food loads. Foodbanks play an essential role in addressing this challenge by working with local partners and farms, retailers, manufacturers, restaurants, and distributors to rescue and redistribute surplus food that would otherwise go to waste across all of Ohio's 88 counties. We are pleased to have coordinated with the Ohio Department of Health and local food recovery partners on this report.

The Ohio Association of Foodbanks is pleased to present this Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) Cookbook. This book highlights special recipes from Celebrate Your Plate, utilizing CSFP focused ingredients to make simple and delicious meals, to nourish yo

Here you can find the methodology and sources for our 2026 County Fact Sheets.