News & Updates

"Yesterday was the longest day of winter. Today, we feel hope that the darkest days of the pandemic and its devastating impact on poverty and food insecurity are behind us. We know the suffering from this once-in-a-generation crisis will not have subsided six months from now, and that more will need to be done. But we are also incredibly grateful that meaningful help is on its way."

We humbly applaud Governor Mike DeWine for seeking a fully funded extension for the National Guard response under Title 32, and we’re extraordinarily moved that Senators Portman and Brown would join with all of Ohio’s 16 House members on a bipartisan, bicameral letter to lift up and expedite that request.

"As public health risks and volatility in local economies and food systems remain widespread, so too does the food security crisis in our state and across the nation. But it’s abundantly clear that the large-scale return of community volunteers to support our emergency hunger relief response remains unlikely while pandemic conditions persist. The remarkable Ohio National Guard soldiers and airmen serving at our warehouses and in our communities remain indispensable to keeping our fellow Ohioans fed."

The long, hard Ohio winter won't do any favors for residents already struggling to make ends meet, according to those on the front lines of a battle for COVID-19 financial aid. The Ohio Association of Foodbanks, the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio and the Children's Defense Fund of Ohio are begging Congress to pass a relief package in the next few weeks.

Organizers say food banks are completely overwhelmed, providing food to as many Ohioans as they can. The need is growing, but additional help from the federal government is still in limbo. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates more than 300,000 Ohio households are behind on rent, and nearly 200,000 are concerned they’ll be evicted in the next two months.

Ohio foodbanks have seen unprecedented demand during the coronavirus pandemic — demand they say they couldn’t have met without the help of the Ohio National Guard. Now, as the pandemic enters its most dangerous phase that help is about to dry up and the foodbanks are calling on the Trump administration to do something.

A report highlighting the impact of the AmeriCorps VISTA Summer Associates that served in 2020 during the COVID-19 era.

An overview of programs and partnerships that the Ohio Association of Foodbanks engaged in to prevent childhood hunger during summer 2019.