Media Coverage

Food banks and local job and family services agencies are seeing an increase in public need as resources decrease due to both state and federal actions.

Joree Novotny, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, said the operating budget (HB 96) left the association with a $7.5 million reduction in funding compared to the previous fiscal year.

On July 4, President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” was officially signed, and as part of the bill, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program saw significant cuts.

As it stands, SNAP is fully funded by the U.S. government, but according to the bill, starting in fiscal year 2028, states will be required to cover five to 15% of benefits if they have payment error rates of 6% or above. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ohio’s error rate in fiscal year 2024 was 9.01%, with 7.67% of total payments in the state being overpayments.

At the end of the day, StarkFresh’s heart and mission were tied to the people who needed the biggest helping hand.

That’s how Executive Director Tom Phillips, who led the Canton-based nonprofit fighting hunger across Stark County, described the organization’s work to Farm and Dairy. After more than a decade combating food insecurity, StarkFresh, the Canton-based nonprofit known for bringing dignity and equity to food access, is closing its doors.

The shuttering, announced July 1, comes after what the StarkFresh’s Board of Directors called a difficult choice brought on by a combination of financial and operational challenges that ultimately made the organization unsustainable.

The esteemed Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley and the robust network of similar nonprofits in the Ohio Association of Foodbanks have never met a challenge they could not slay.

Over the years, their critical mission has been far too important to let any pesky nuisances such as a national economic recession or a global health pandemic stand in their way of delivering essential food assistance to tens of thousands in the Valley and millions in Ohio.

Thousands of Ohio’s 1.5 million food assistance recipients could lose eligibility for food assistance, with others seeing a possible reduction in their benefits, over the next few years under the new federal budget.

Leaders of area organizations that help hungry people are bracing for an expected uptick in need and fear that the influx will come at a time when food banks and pantries themselves are struggling to keep shelves stocked.

“People who might have previously been able to turn to SNAP as the first line of defense against hunger, may not be able to turn to it now, whether that’s because they’re not able to find a volunteer placement, or they’re between jobs or they fell through the cracks of of additional bureaucracy through really no fault of their own,” said Joree Novotny, the executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

Nearly half of all patrons of Ohio’s network of food banks, which includes Second Harvest Food Bank in Springfield, are also SNAP recipients, Novotny said.

Thousands of Ohio’s 1.5 million food assistance recipients could lose eligibility for food assistance, with others seeing a possible reduction in their benefits, over the next few years under the new federal budget.

Leaders of area organizations that help hungry people are bracing for an expected uptick in need and fear that the influx will come at a time when food banks and pantries themselves are struggling to keep shelves stocked.