Media Coverage

A new study found that Ohio families are still being forced to make hard decisions when it comes to basic expenses and meals.

The Ohio Association of Food Banks conducted a study called “Hunger in Ohio 2024” to “help guide the development of programs, policies and solutions that improve food security for individuals and their households and inform public awareness and policy development for addressing hunger in Ohio.”

“After enduring over a year of above-average inflation and rising costs for food and other essentials, paired with the expiration of pandemic-era Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in March 2023, Ohioans are visiting Ohio’s food bank network at record rates,” the OAF said in a statement announcing the study’s findings.

The OAF represents 12 Feeding America food banks and 3,600 “local hunger relief partners and programs.” For the study, the group surveyed more than 2,300 visitors to the state’s food pantries between April and May of this year.

Those pantries saw a 34% increase in the need for emergency grocery access between 2022 and 2023, or 14.66 million visits in that year, according to the association.

Though there are signs the U.S. economy is strong, millions of Ohioans are still struggling to afford the basics. And in the 17 months since the federal government ended pandemic-related emergency food benefits, demand has been rising at foodbanks and food pantries in Ohio.

Before the pandemic, the Ohio Association of Foodbanks said the state’s 12 regional foodbanks were serving about 2 million Ohioans each quarter.“

“Before Covid-19 happened, we were serving about 2 million food pantry visits a quarter, and that was after a very prolonged recovery coming out of the Great Recession where we finally got to a new normal. Now we are serving 3.6 to 3.8 million food pantry visits every quarter. We had before, a year ago, never hit 3 million food pantry visits in a quarter, and now we are approaching 4 million in a quarter.”

Anti-hunger advocates have long considered summer one of the toughest times to reach children.

Many schools serve free summer meals. But parents often struggle to get to them, either because they’re far away or open only during work hours. Families who rely on food banks say they often can’t find staples their kids need, like milk. And often, the food is nearly expired.

Summer EBT allows families to shop for themselves — part of a pandemic-era trend to provide families with more direct aid.

“Only parents and families know what’s best for themselves and their children — what they’re actually going to eat, what they’re capable of eating,” said Hope Lane-Gavin, who directs nutrition policy and programs for the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, which is helping get the word out about Summer EBT. “Most food pantries can’t really tailor a box to a gluten-free kid.”

Pandemic EBT, which launched when schools were closed, helped lay the groundwork. States found that families liked that program, and it helped agencies set up new systems they’re now tweaking for Summer EBT.

Summer can be the hungriest time of the year for students who rely on free or reduced school meals and a new federal program is trying to help those families.

Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (S-EBT) — also known as SUN Bucks — is a new grocery benefit program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture that will give families $120 per eligible student to buy groceries during the summer.

Ohio is one of more than 30 states that has opted into the SUN Bucks program.

“We have a lot of Ohio children who rely on their school meals for their breakfasts and lunches, and in the summertime sometimes it’s very difficult for households to be able to provide meals,” said Brigette Hires, director of nutrition for the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. “This new Summer EBT has really helped to just have another safety net for households in the summertime to be able to provide nutritious meals for their families.”

The SUN Bucks program is estimated to help 840,000 Ohio students afford groceries during the summer and is the first new permanent federal nutrition program in more than 50 years.