Media Coverage

As Ohio food assistance recipients await decisions on the federal and state level about whether they will see large cuts to their benefits, some state legislators are trying to iron out other details related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Congressional budget reconciliation is ongoing in the U.S. Senate, after what anti-hunger advocates say would be a nearly 30% reduction in SNAP benefits was approved by the U.S. House in their draft of budget documents, encouraged by the Trump administration as part of efforts to slash federal spending.

Advocates say the cuts will be devastating for low-income families across the country, with rural communities disproportionately impacted, according to the national Food Research & Action Center. The Ohio Association of Foodbanks said the loss of SNAP funding would restrict services “vital for everyday Ohioans in every Congressional district.”

The potential cuts come as legislators work on the state’s SNAP program, with bills ranging from supplements to the benefits for older Ohioans to a push to prevent the defrauding of Ohioans who need the funds.

Most recently, supporters of House Bill 163 – which would make the electronic benefit cards (EBTs) that hold SNAP benefits chip-enabled, like most mainstream credit and debit cards – spoke on the impacts chip technology would offer to households. The modernization of the EBT cards would help stem fraud through “skimming,” a method of stealing information from the swipe of a card and capture of PIN numbers at checkouts.

The executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks is trying to get the word out: If the budget passed by the U.S. House of Representatives becomes reality, it could trash the state budget and make many, many Ohioans go hungry.

The matter goes next to the U.S. Senate. But the members of the Ohio delegation aren’t talking.

The House-passed Republican reconciliation budget — President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” — would hand out $4.6 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years. In an analysis, Trump’s alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, estimated that 70% of the benefit would go to the “top 10% of the income distribution.”

Meanwhile, the “Department of Government Efficiency” — led by the world’s richest man — has been looking to cut services for average Americans. One place the Republican House budget seeks to achieve some of those cuts is to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

Advocates recently spoke out in favor of a bill that would help Ohio college students dealing with food insecurity.

A bill that would require the Chancellor of Higher Education to create the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program had supporter testimony last week in the Ohio House Workforce and Higher Education Committee meeting.

The program would award hunger-free campus grants which could, for example, create an on-campus food pantry or a partnership with a local bank, provide students information about SNAP, have an emergency assistance grant available to students, or have a student meal plan credit donation program.

Ohio House Reps. Sean Patrick Brennan, D-Parma, and Jim Hoops, R-Napoleon, introduced Ohio House Bill 157, which had 15 people submit supporter testimony. H.B. 157 would appropriate $625,000 for fiscal year 2026 and 2027 for the program.

“The Hunger Free Campus Act would incentivize colleges and universities to establish basic needs programs, like an on-site food pantry or emergency assistance grant program as well as connecting students to resources,” said Sarah Kuhns, external affairs manager of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

The Congressional Budget Office said the cuts, particularly to Medicaid and SNAP, would create a 2% decrease in household income nationwide in 2027 for the 10% of Americans in the lowest income brackets, going to 4% by 2033. Households in the highest income brackets, however, could see raises.

The loss of SNAP funding, along with Medicaid, would reduce access to services that “are vital for everyday Ohioans in every Congressional district,” according to Joree Novotny, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

Novotny said the current proposal would shift nearly $500 million in SNAP costs per year onto the state of Ohio.

“That’s about the same as all the state general revenue spent to operate the entire Ohio Department of Job and Family Services each year,” Novotny said.

The food banks and other anti-hunger advocates are already asking the state to support bipartisan legislation that would create supplemental benefits for SNAP participants in Ohio.

Cuts to federal Medicaid spending that have been suggested in a draft budget that now sits in the U.S. House of Representatives would require an approximately 29% increase in state Medicaid spending per resident, should states try to make up the difference.

Last month, the Ohio Medicaid Matters Coalition — including the Ohio Hospital Association, Ohio Association of Foodbanks, Ohio State Medical Association and Ohio School-Based Health Alliance — asked Gov. Mike DeWine to be active in defending the state’s Medicaid benefits. At the time, they said Medicaid is a “critical driving force in fostering thriving communities,” while supporting the preservation of coverage for as many Ohioans as possible, according to a report by The Columbus Dispatch.

Necessary reductions in spending are never easy. Certainly doing things the way they have always been done isn’t going to change anything.

Joree Novotny, executive director, Ohio Association of Foodbanks, warned the bill will shift $500 million in annual SNAP costs to Ohio alone. “Hunger is a harsh reality for 1.8 million Ohioans. This includes children, seniors, veterans, and working families. Ohio’s foodbanks are doing everything they can, distributing more than 230 million meals last year, but we can’t fill the gap if SNAP is fundamentally changed in such a drastic way. Similarly, cuts to Medicaid will result in more impossible tradeoffs for families choosing between food, medicine, and medical care.”