Media Coverage

A winter storm halted food deliveries across parts of Ohio this week, complicating efforts to reach seniors, children and families who rely on meal programs to get through the day.

As icy roads forced schools and food pantries to close, food assistance organizations scrambled to adapt and keep food moving.

The end of the reimbursement program has coincided with one of the worst years in recent memory for hunger. Federal cuts to the Emergency Food Assistance Program has meant fewer resources for food banks. At the same time, rising food prices has led to increased demand.

Grocery costs are up nearly 30% since 2020, according to reporting from NPR.

Now, Hope Lane-Gavin with the Ohio Association of Food Banks says food organizations across the state are seeing victims of SNAP theft in their already long lines.

While food banks are beginning to recover following the longest government shutdown in history, officials say they are still experiencing record numbers of clients due to rising costs.

Ohio Association of Foodbanks Executive Director Joree Novotny said food banks and pantries statewide have started to see a plateau in visits since the government shutdown ceased, with more visitors than previous years. “We're definitely seeing — as we have every month throughout the year — much higher-than-average numbers of folks coming to our food pantries for help with groceries,” she said in an interview.

“It’s thanks to Ohio’s hunters from across our great state that families will have the option to pick up venison at a local food pantry,” said ODNR Director Mary Mertz. “It’s truly amazing what we can accomplish when we come together with a common goal.”

For donation days, The Division of Wildlife partnered with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction's Ohio Penal Industries' meat processing facility at the Pickaway Correction Institution. ODNR said so far, 1,150 pounds of venison have been given to the Ohio Association of Foodbanks for distribution to West Ohio Foodbank, Mid-Ohio Food Collective and Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed Executive Order 2025-07D, directing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program funding to initiatives that will assist struggling families, support children and encourage workforce development.

The executive order distributes funds to the following local organizations, including up to $250,000 in each of the next two fiscal years (FY2026 and FY2027) that will be used to assist Ohio Association of Foodbanks in providing food assistance to families statewide.

Baker also talked about how price increases for things such as food and utilities have made it even harder to make ends meet.

“The Ohio Association of Foodbanks estimates over 7% of older adults go hungry in Ohio,” she said. “Locally, the Dayton Foodbank estimates that over 1,300 senior food boxes are delivered each month to older adults in the Miami Valley. Many of our seniors are making choices between food and medicine. Anything we can do to help makes a huge difference”.