Media Coverage

Later in the show, a conversation about how Ohio food banks are dealing with the growing need from families in Ohio while also dealing with funding cuts at the federal and potentially the state level too.

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.