News & Updates

“The passage of the budget reconciliation bill will weaken access to wholesome food and reliable health care for many Ohio families. It includes fundamental, structural and sweeping changes to the nation’s primary food assistance program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). These changes will be implemented at different intervals over the next three fiscal years and create ongoing uncertainty for communities facing food budget shortfalls and economic instability.

“Our network of 12 regional foodbanks and their 3,600 faith-based and charitable partners remain committed to doing as much as we can to stand side-by-side with children, parents, workers, seniors, and disabled Ohioans striving to keep healthy food on the table. We continue to be motivated to stretch resources in partnership with farmers, manufacturers, retailers, local, state, and federal government agencies and policymakers, and countless donors and volunteers.

“The promise of adequate, nourishing food helps families to think beyond meeting today’s basic needs and focus on pursuing brighter futures. Our resolve to ensure that promise is met across Ohio remains strong, and we will continue to call on our communities to link arms with us so that we can ensure no one in our great state goes hungry.”

The U.S. Senate has passed a version of the reconciliation bill that includes a 20% cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), totaling more than $180 billion through 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Food insecurity advocates said they are extremely concerned. The proposed cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would affect more than 40 million people nationwide.

In Ohio, experts project the change would create a gap the state can’t afford.

“Ohio would be responsible for nearly $400 million each year in new spending just to maintain what are already inadequate benefits for primarily children, seniors, disabled Ohioans and working families,” said Joree Novotny, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

“Everyone deserves access to fresh, nutritious food and affordable health care, yet hunger and hardship persist in every corner of Ohio and every congressional district in America. The reconciliation bill passed by the U.S. Senate today would significantly reduce federal investments in SNAP and Medicaid, transferring more financial responsibility to state governments at a time when state budgets are already strained and undermining help with affording food and health care when both are already too expensive for families.

“For the first time, this legislation would require states to pay for a significant share of the cost of SNAP benefits. Based on error rates released yesterday by USDA, the State of Ohio would be responsible for nearly $400 million in new SNAP costs annually under this proposal. With state budgets already stretched thin, this would force local policymakers to make painful decisions and leave more families without the support that helps communities thrive. It would put SNAP benefits at risk for every vulnerable, eligible person.

“This bill forces Ohio to either identify hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue, eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars in other critical public services, or risk reduction or elimination of SNAP benefits for every vulnerable Ohioan. In Ohio, there are nearly 10,000 SNAP retailers – all of whom will be impacted by SNAP cuts in this bill, especially those in rural communities. It would also jeopardize funding that helps keep hospitals, particularly in rural areas, financially stable and accessible for families who rely on them. These programs work together to promote health, reduce emergency room visits, support child wellness, and sustain communities, saving taxpayer dollars in the long run.

“Ohio’s foodbanks are proud of our important role in preventing hunger, promoting access to healthy food, reducing food waste, leading food as medicine work, and supporting families and seniors when they face budget shortfalls. Through partnership with individual donors, corporations, food manufacturers, farmers, grocers and retailers, and local, state, and federal governments, and thanks to the generous efforts of thousands of steadfast volunteers, social service organizations, and faith-based charities, we continue to work harder every day to prevent hunger for Ohioans in need.

“But though we do a whole lot with a little every day, we are not equipped to fill the gaps that these fundamental, structural changes and cuts would create for children, seniors, veterans, disabled Ohioans, and working families. We urge the U.S. House of Representatives to reject this bill because of the strain it will create on state budgets and the harm it will cause for Ohio families already struggling to meet their basic needs.”

As Republican congressional leaders look for ways to offset more than $4 trillion in tax cuts heavily tilted in favor of the wealthy, Ohio’s food bank leader says cuts to the federal food safety net would be devastating.

When the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee earlier this month released its piece of a federal budget bill, Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., said it took a “commonsense approach” to the federal Supplemental Assistance to Needy Families, or SNAP program.

However, the approach could also be seen as an unfunded mandate to states and local governments — and an attempt to hassle some of the most vulnerable off of a program meant to keep them from going hungry, critics say.

The changes to the program colloquially known as food stamps are part of President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which faces a July 4 deadline.

It would give $4.6 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years. In an analysis, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, estimated that 70% of the benefit would go to the “top 10% of the income distribution.”

A raft of proposals coming from Republican lawmakers in Washington, D.C. and Columbus will slash health care and other vital programs for the poor in rural Ohio and in its cities, recent analyses say.

An advocacy group is trying to pressure the state’s Republican U.S. senators to vote against it.

Republican lawmakers in D.C. and Columbus are hashing out budgets. As they do, they’re looking for ways to cut spending to finance tax cuts weighted heavily toward the wealthy.

The reconciliation bill — President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” — passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would provide about would cut taxes by more than $3 trillion and give 70% of the money to the richest 10% according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

At the state level, Policy Matters Ohio said that a flat-tax proposal passed by the Ohio Senate would cost the state $1.1 billion a year and give 96% of the benefit to the state’s top 20% of income earners.

A raft of proposals coming from Republican lawmakers in Washington, D.C. and Columbus will slash health care and other vital programs for the poor in rural Ohio and in its cities, recent analyses say.

An advocacy group is trying to pressure the state’s Republican U.S. senators to vote against it.

Republican lawmakers in D.C. and Columbus are hashing out budgets. As they do, they’re looking for ways to cut spending to finance tax cuts weighted heavily toward the wealthy.

The purpose of this report is to highlight the main findings from a follow up survey on Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) which has been branded Ohio CAN (Community + Agriculture + Nutrition) in Ohio. The goal of the survey was to understand the perceived impact of the Ohio CAN program on local agricultural businesses. Survey questions were devised with input from Howard Fleeter & Associates, the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, and regional foodbanks to collect data on business demographics, business growth, food safety, employment, food chain supply resiliency, wellness, and future business outlook.