Media Coverage

While Americans receiving SNAP benefits may have breathed a sigh of relief with the passage Wednesday of legislation to end the longest government shutdown in American history, the true relief may take some time to make its way down to those in need.

With that in mind, the Lima Black Ministerial Alliance made a contribution to the city’s Stronger Together Fund to help the West Ohio Food Bank meet an increasing need for food donations.

The alliance’s $5,500 donation comes at a critical time, according to Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith and West Ohio Food Bank CEO Tommie Harner.

One thing the federal shutdown illustrated is how close untold numbers of people in our community are to going hungry.

As food stamps and paychecks stopped flowing for many residents, food pantries became overwhelmed. Foodbank Inc. used $500,000 in extra funding from Montgomery County commissioners to buy seven semi-trucks of food to stock shelves.

Many food pantries in Ohio are seeing record demand as President Donald Trump has resisted court orders to provide food aid to 42 million Americans.

The outlines of an agreement to end the longest government shutdown in history emerged Sunday night. But it’s unclear how quickly the administration will work to distribute food benefits or in what amounts.

A federal judge ruled that despite the shutdown, Trump must disburse funds that are available for the purpose. But so far he has refused.

The matter is before the appellate courts, and the Department of Agriculture on Saturday ordered some states to undo their work to disburse food funds on their own.

On Monday afternoon, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services issued guidance saying that full benefits are unlikely to be provided this month.

“Under the revised federal calculations, nearly all recipients will receive less than 65% of their normal benefit,” it said.

As demand for food assistance continues to rise across her community, Stephanie Sweany, executive director of the Stark County Hunger Task Force, said the situation feels all too familiar.

“I was here through COVID. And I would kind of compare the need and sort of the desperation that people are feeling, and the uncertainty that people are feeling, to COVID,” she said.

Sweany has watched as the federal government shutdown led to the suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits this month, putting greater pressure on food banks already stretched thin by earlier federal cuts. As the matter pinballed through the courts, the standoff between the federal government and the states over SNAP deepened, even as a deal to fund the government appeared close.

On Nov. 9, the Trump administration ordered states to “immediately undo” any “unauthorized” SNAP payments for the month. At the same time, progress toward ending the shutdown emerged when eight Democratic senators joined Republicans in backing a plan to break the weeks-long deadlock. The proposal would reopen the government, restore funding for SNAP and other programs and guarantee back pay for furloughed workers, but it leaves out the expiring health care subsidies Democrats have been fighting to preserve as millions face rising insurance costs.

In the meantime, state officials across the country are scrambling to feed their residents, and local food banks are bracing for another surge in need.

hared Harvest Food Bank, which serves five regional counties, will receive $1.43 million from the state of Ohio amid the suspension of SNAP benefits.

But not all of those funds will be spent in the foodbank’s five-county region.

Due to the federal government shutdown, benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, were suspended for the month of November causing food banks and food pantries to wonder how to keep their shelves filled.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine reaffirmed a plan on Thursday that he announced last month to provide up to $25 million in support of food assistance to families affected by the suspension of SNAP benefits.

The first part of the plan was directing the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to provide $7 million to regional food banks across Ohio. Shared Harvest Foodbank will receive $1.43 million, according to the governor’s office.

Shared Harvest Executive Director Terry Purdue said the foodbank “holds a contract for not just our food bank but four other food banks in Ohio covering a total of 31 counties.”

The Dayton Food Bank will receive approximately $420,000 to serve Montgomery, Greene and Preble counties.

The Ohio Foodbank Association’s Executive Director, Joree Novotny, said the funds were much greater before the shutdown.

“We’re usually moving in and out $32 million worth of food every month across the state already,” Novotny said.

However, Novotny said anything will help at this time.

“We’re very grateful for the additional $7 million to help buy food, but it’s not going to fill all the gaps,” Novotny said.

Local food banks and pantries are seeing an even greater need because federal workers are not getting paychecks.

“Yesterday, we served 145 clients. Today, we served 129,” Greene County Fish Pantry Executive Director Mike Reeves said. “We did 25 brand new families. Today, it was about 15. Almost every one of them says it’s due to snap issues.”