Media Coverage

Food banks across Ohio are dealing with a major increase in need, but each Republican budget passed in the state cuts their funding from 2025 to 2026 by millions.

The need for help putting food on the table is growing in Ohio.

Last year’s visits to the state’s network of food pantries were nearly 16 million, including repeat customers, according to the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

“The fact is that, unfortunately, the need for food is at an all-time high,” Kristin Warzocha with Greater Cleveland Food Bank said.

Now, Warzocha is bracing for a tough year.

“We are expecting changes that could result in up to 8 million less pounds of food next year,” she said. “That’s a 15% decrease — that’s without additional public or private support.”

Ohio food banks are currently receiving $32.5 million from the state. But typically, they’ve been receiving about $24.5 million since 2019. In the last budget, they were given a one-time supplement of $7.5 million due to extra COVID-19 dollars and increased need. Now they would be going back to $24.5 million — despite the surge in need and inflation.

The Mid-Ohio Food Collective provides food for over a million people in Ohio. They said if President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" passes then it will create more demand, and they are not sure if they can keep up.

Matt Habash, the CEO of Mid-Ohio Food Collective said SNAP is the first line of defense against hunger. He worries that without that line, everything will fall upon the food banks.

Thousands in Southwest Ohio could lose federal food assistance benefits, while tens of thousands more could see assistance reduced under congressional budget proposals, according to the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).

Republicans in support of changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, say the changes will save money, root out waste and encourage personal responsibility.

The program offers an average of $191 per month to 1 in 9 low-income, elderly and disabled Ohioans to purchase groceries each month, according to a CBPP analysis of USDA Food and Nutrition Service data. Sixty-two percent of Ohio households that participate in SNAP are in families with children.

Congress is considering the deepest cuts ever to the food assistance program under a plan that would reduce funding by $300 billion over the next decade, according to the CBPP. The cuts will be used in part to pay for trillions in tax cuts that will benefit the wealthy.

New legislative moves in Ohio aimed at cracking down on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) fraud and limiting what recipients can buy have sparked widespread concern among social service advocates and low-income families—not just in Ohio, but across the Midwest. As debates heat up over food insecurity and government benefits, many Illinois families are asking: Could these changes be coming here next?

The proposed bills—House Bill 162 and House Bill 163—include sweeping changes like banning SNAP purchases of items such as soda, candy, and energy drinks. Another measure focuses on tightening fraud prevention through chip-enabled EBT cards and requiring in-person interviews.

These bills arrive as a 30% federal cut to SNAP benefits already takes effect nationwide, further straining resources for struggling families.

What’s in the Ohio Bills?

HB 162 proposes to restrict SNAP usage to healthier food options, echoing past efforts that failed to gain federal approval. The bill would ban SNAP users from buying:

• Soda and sugary drinks
• Energy drinks
• Candy
• Chips and other snack foods

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Scott Wiggam (R-Wayne County), argues that the intent is to promote nutrition among recipients and reduce taxpayer burden.

Meanwhile, HB 163 aims to curb fraud in the SNAP system, citing over $17 million in benefits stolen in recent EBT skimming schemes across Ohio.

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.