Press Releases & Media Statements

"Yesterday was the longest day of winter. Today, we feel hope that the darkest days of the pandemic and its devastating impact on poverty and food insecurity are behind us. We know the suffering from this once-in-a-generation crisis will not have subsided six months from now, and that more will need to be done. But we are also incredibly grateful that meaningful help is on its way."

We humbly applaud Governor Mike DeWine for seeking a fully funded extension for the National Guard response under Title 32, and we’re extraordinarily moved that Senators Portman and Brown would join with all of Ohio’s 16 House members on a bipartisan, bicameral letter to lift up and expedite that request.

"As public health risks and volatility in local economies and food systems remain widespread, so too does the food security crisis in our state and across the nation. But it’s abundantly clear that the large-scale return of community volunteers to support our emergency hunger relief response remains unlikely while pandemic conditions persist. The remarkable Ohio National Guard soldiers and airmen serving at our warehouses and in our communities remain indispensable to keeping our fellow Ohioans fed."

The Ohio Association of Foodbanks, representing a statewide network of 12 foodbanks and 3,600 hunger relief programs, fully supports Governor Mike DeWine’s statewide mask mandate. We urge every foodbank supporter, donor, volunteer and customer to look at wearing a mask as an important part of our fight against historic levels of food insecurity. The more we can safely keep our economy running, the less long-term suffering ahead for our neighbors and friends.

In Ohio, more than one in seven workers remain unemployed, and recent polls show one in four Americans missed last month’s rent or mortgage or have little to no confidence they can pay next month on time. Food insecurity rates have nearly doubled in Ohio from 13.9% to 23%, according to the Census Household Pulse Survey. The Census found that just in the past week, nearly 350,000 Ohio households have reported receiving free food from a food pantry, school or children’s program, or other source, such as a neighbor.

“Our senior management team at the association has never just ‘stuck to hunger issues’ before, and we’re not going to start now. I’m reaffirming that we’re here to join our fellow advocates in speaking out against racial injustice and speaking up for reforms and accountability. These are big problems that take everyone lending their voice. We can’t correct the food injustices in this country while racial injustice remains.”