Media Coverage

Ohioans have seen some respite from high fuel costs in recent months. But those who provide food to millions of poor people in the state say their situation is only deteriorating.

Global supply-chain problems, labor shortages, the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and other megatrends are all combining to make them worry for the first time that they just won’t have enough food for everybody who needs it, Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, said on Monday.

“We’re down about a sixth and it’s declining,” she said, referring to food supplies, particularly from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. At the same time, she said, demand is spiking because of high prices at the grocery store, increasing costs for housing and utilities and health care.

That means food at Ohio’s foodbanks is “going out a hell of a lot faster than it’s coming in,” she said.

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.

Mid-Ohio Food Collective President and CEO Matt Habash recently stared into his warehouse and saw a nightmare scenario for any organization tasked with providing food for those in need: empty rack after empty rack.

The sight was in stark contrast to the abundance the food bank had available when COVID-19 raged around the globe and right here in Greater Columbus.

Food insecurity during the height of the pandemic and food insecurity now are two different beasts.

New faces, longer lines and empty shelves: Ohio's hunger-fighting network is sounding the alarm as it faces unprecedented challenges.

At the Southeast Ohio Foodbank in Logan, Director Rose Frech said with inventory at about 15% of capacity, they're struggling with severe food shortages. That's forced them to make difficult decisions, she said, such as canceling direct mobile food distributions.

"The real heartbreak is people came to rely on us for food for their families," said Frech. "To no longer be available to those folks in need - it's just frankly devastating."

CEO of the West Ohio Food Bank Tommie Harner said at the same time, there's been a spike in the number of people in need of food assistance.

"Many of them are struggling with rising inflation, the cost of fuel, the increased cost of food," said Harner. "And you go to the grocery store and many of the items are not available."

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.