Media Coverage

NPR's Sarah McCammon speaks to Joree Novotny, Executive Director of the Ohio Association of Food Banks about the USDA's recent cuts to the food purchasing programs that support families in need.

As part of Gov. Mike DeWine’s budget proposal, food banks across Ohio could see a significant reduction in the amount of state funding they receive. Most of this is due to the loss of what had been a one-time $7.5 million appropriation in the previous budget.

But that decrease has food bank organizers worried.

“It’s about 3.4 million Ohioans who live in households that are under that income limit (200 percent of the federal poverty line),” Joree Novotny, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, told the Ohio Capital Journal. “SNAP in Ohio, there’s only about 1.5 million Ohioans who are currently eligible and participating.

So, there’s a wide gap of people who are maybe experiencing food hardship that can’t turn to the SNAP program for help, that are still going to lean on us.”

The executive budget proposal would reduce funding for foodbanks by $7.5 million per fiscal year even as foodbanks are experiencing "record high utilization," Ohio Association of Foodbanks (OAF) Executive Director Joree Novotny told the House Finance Committee this week as she requested restoration of the funding and an additional $4.93 million per year, for a total investment of $36.98 million per fiscal year in the 2026-27 state biennial budget. Novotny also told Hannah News that her organization has been informed that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is terminating the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LPFA) program, known as "Ohio CAN" in the Buckeye State. Novotny said the program will be terminated in Ohio at the end of FY25. Calling Ohio CAN a "resounding success," she said it has connected small farmers with regional and statewide food hubs, allowing them to grow their markets while providing nutritious food to hungry Ohioans.

“The number of seniors seeking help from our statewide hunger relief network went up 133 percent from 2014 to 2024, including 70 percent in the last five years. Older Ohioans represent one in five people served by Ohio’s foodbanks and their local hunger relief partners. Ohio’s foodbanks are serving as a safety net to federal safety net programs, and we can’t continue to sustain a response at this pace without robust help. By investing in an increased minimum monthly SNAP benefit for older Ohioans, the State of Ohio can provide help to low-income seniors living on fixed incomes that aren’t keeping up with the cost of housing, medication, and food. We applaud the bill sponsors, Representatives Troy and Williams, for the introduction of this legislation –the bipartisan support is another strong example of the State of Ohio’s longstanding commitment to preventing and addressing hunger,” stated Joree Novotny, executive director for the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

The Agriculture Department has halted millions of dollars worth of deliveries to food banks without explanation, according to food bank leaders in six states.

USDA had previously allocated $500 million in deliveries to food banks for fiscal year 2025 through The Emergency Food Assistance Program. Now, the food bank leaders say many of those orders have been canceled.

“I certainly look at our lines and look at our shelves and say we need some relief,” said Joree Novotny, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, which also reported canceled deliveries with no indication they would resume.