News & Updates

Recently released data, including the USDA Household Food Security report and the U.S. Census Bureau’s Income and Poverty and Supplemental Poverty Measure reports, show that temporary relief measures and efforts by the public and charitable sectors implemented in 2020 helped to insulate many Americans from greater hardship. With pandemic unemployment compensation ended, and other relief measures like SNAP Emergency Allotments, expanded SNAP eligibility for income-eligible college students and the temporarily expanded Child Tax Credit set to expire, Ohio anti-hunger and anti-poverty organizations are urging Congress to make critical permanent investments in the nation’s social safety net.

Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced $80 million in federal awards to 60 grantees in 30 states to reinvest in critical Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) Navigator services. The announcement includes $1,928,061 for the Ohio Association of Foodbanks and its consortium of regional and local organizations in its first year of a three-year cooperative agreement with CMS.

One reason people aren’t getting enough to eat, Hamler-Fugitt said, is that their incomes don’t come close to keeping up with inflation. Since many monthly expenses are fixed, people scrimp on things that aren’t, she said.

“The one area of your budget you can cut is your food budget,” she said.

This Older Americans Month, we urge lawmakers to acknowledge the demographic shifts well underway in states like Ohio and continue to build out sound public policy improvements and investments to support older adults as they strive to age in place with dignity and security.

Every Ohioan deserves to feel well-nourished and to have their basic needs met, from their first year of life to their twilight years.

We cannot keep up at this rate, especially with pandemic-related supports for families ended or soon to end. To survive, we need more support from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) to put wholesome, staple foods on our shelves.

We also need Ohio’s leaders to recognize that our hunger relief network is so much more than somewhere people turn to in emergencies. For schools, health clinics and community colleges, we make sure students and patients can get the nutritious food they need to learn and thrive. For working parents struggling to afford childcare and rent, we provide support, promote access to federal nutrition programs and fill gaps. For many older adults and people living with disabilities on fixed incomes, we are a first-line grocery store.

A legislator's guide to addressing hunger