News & Updates

Ohio Association of Foodbanks Joint Statement on USDA Response to Food Shortfalls, Opportunity for Ohio to Match: Ohio’s foodbank network is extremely grateful to the Biden-Harris administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for their announcement that they will provide nearly $1.5 billion in additional funding for emergency food assistance nationally, roughly $50 million of which will be used to direct food to Ohioans in need beginning in 2023. By matching this $50 million investment by USDA with $50 million in the State of Ohio’s ARPA funds, Governor DeWine and members of the Ohio General Assembly can ensure that the Ohioans hardest hit by the pandemic and ongoing economic uncertainty can count on us for the help they need in the future. Immediate ARPA funds will prevent a bleak holiday season, as well as help our network reinforce its storage and distribution capacity for the months ahead and support Ohio agriculture. We look forward to working with our state and federal partners to continue to keep our communities’ needs met.

"The Ohio Association of Foodbanks is proud to join Ohio elected officials and community leaders at the White House to kick off the Biden-Harris Administration’s Communities in Action series. This important conversation will focus on the investments the Administration has made in our communities and give us a chance to share our insights about how we can continue to partner together to leverage these historic investments on behalf of working families."

Ohio Association of Foodbanks Joint Statement on Critical Need for Support During Food Shortfalls, Hardship: We are calling on Governor DeWine and members of the Ohio General Assembly to act, with urgency, to help us prevent hunger now and promote stability in the months ahead.

Ohio foodbanks have taken some pretty dramatic steps to deal with the crisis. For example, many are rationing food, typically by cutting a five-to-seven day allotment of food by two days.

Meanwhile, they continue to appeal to Gov. Mike DeWine for $50 million in emergency funding as the state sits on unprecedented balances of $7.4 billion.

“Food banks have been lightening the bag, lightening the boxes, rationing food," Hamler-Fugitt said. "We're currently providing families, Ohioans, that turn to us with two fewer days of meals because we're trying to stretch what we have on hand. But the situation is very severe.”

With the legislature on a break until after the November election, the food banks turned to Gov. Mike DeWine in June, asking him for $50 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds.

As inflation has spiked and remained steadily high, food banks and food pantries nationwide report facing record demands for their services at a time when skyrocketing food costs and supply chain issues have made it difficult to meet those needs. Food assistance programs in Ohio and in Greater Columbus have hardly been immune to such woes.

A legislator's guide to addressing hunger