Press Releases & Media Statements

According to Feeding America’s newly released Map the Meal Gap 2019, Ohio’s food insecurity rate of 14.5 percent is much higher than the national rate (12.5 percent) and the Midwestern average (11.4 percent). Food insecurity is higher among households with children. About 1 in 5 children in Ohio (19.6 percent) live in families that can’t always afford enough food on their own. In several rural counties (Monroe, Meigs, Adams, Vinton, Scioto and Guernsey), that rate is 1 in 4 or higher.

All Ohio SNAP recipients will receive half of their March SNAP benefits on February 22.They will receive the remainder of their March SNAP benefits on their normal issuance date, anywhere from March 2nd to March 20th. We’re grateful that the State of Ohio took this step to help lessen the impact of the federal government shutdown on food insecure Ohioans. Ohio’s foodbanks stand ready as partners with the State to fill nutrition gaps of every kind for the 1 in 3 Ohioans who live in households poor enough to qualify for help from our hunger relief network.

The individuals that would be impacted by this rule live in our communities. They are incredibly vulnerable, with limited skills and education and other barriers to employment. And now the Trump Administration is telling them they won't even be able to count on basic help with food. It's an incredibly Scrooge-like response to people down on their luck, and we will be urging the Administration not to move forward with this rule.

Despite an improving economy, 16.2 percent of households in Ohio reported that they struggled to buy enough food for themselves and their families during 2016–2017, according to a new report released by the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC, a national anti-hunger advocacy group).

The Ohio Association of Foodbanks, our 12 Feeding America Foodbanks, 3,300 member charities and the 2 million Ohioans we serve commend and thank Senators Brown and Portman for supporting the Senate farm bill and rejecting an amendment that would have taken away food assistance from many Ohioans and imposed burdensome requirements on SNAP participants and our state.

The House farm bill passed today is a betrayal of the longstanding, bipartisan commitment our country has made for decades to ensure all Americans have access to adequate nutrition. Along with the nearly 1.4 million Ohioans who use SNAP to put basic groceries on the table - including children, seniors, working families and people living with disabilities - we turn to the Senate to do better.