Publications & Reports

Welcome to the first official Ohio CAN Guide! This guide provides comprehensive information about Ohio’s Local Food Purchasing Assistance Program (LFPA), also known as Ohio CAN (Community +Agriculture + Nutrition). Here, you'll not only learn about the program itself but also discover the diverse individuals working behind the scenes to make it successful. Ohio CAN brings together foodbank representatives, aggregators, farmers, producers, and suppliers to ensure local food reaches communities across the state.

Ohio CAN prioritizes suppliers who identify as historically underrepresented, such as women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, veterans, small and beginner farmers, disabled farmers, and those relying on public assistance.

This guide, like the Ohio CAN program, aims to highlight local foods, celebrate local producers, and showcase the diversity within agriculture. It is designed to inspire anyone interested in farming, gardening, or agriculture and to clarify what “local foods” truly means and its significance to programs like this.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as 'food stamps,' stands as our nation's largest and most effective public aid program, serving as a primary defense against hunger. For every meal provided by the Feeding America food bank network, SNAP benefits supply nine. Particularly vital for low-income older adults, SNAP contributes significantly to achieving food security. The current minimum SNAP benefit of $23 per month falls short in providing adequate nutrition support. The low benefit amount also contributes to low SNAP participation among those eligible who may be hesitant to reach out for help and reluctant to tackle the paperwork required to enroll in the program.

In 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, or LFPA. The State of Ohio received funds to support LFPA, which has been branded Ohio CAN (Community + Agriculture + Nutrition) in Ohio. The State of Ohio received $13.5 million for round one and for round two, or LFPA Plus, will receive a little over $13 million for a total of $26.5 million over a roughly three-year period. The Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program was designed by USDA to maintain and improve food and agricultural supply chain resiliency. LFPA uses non-competitive cooperative agreements to provide up to $900 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funding for state, tribal and territorial governments to purchase foods produced within the state or within 400 miles of the delivery destination to help support local, regional and underserved producers. The cooperative agreements allow the states, tribes and territories to procure and distribute local and regional foods and beverages that are healthy, nutritious, unique to their geographic areas and that meet the needs of the population. In addition to increasing local food consumption, the funds will help build and expand economic opportunity for local and underserved producers. The Ohio Department of Agriculture, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, and Ohio Association of Foodbanks engaged Dr. Howard Fleeter and Dr. Jennifer Olejownik to conduct an independent analysis of Ohio CAN’s early outcomes to identify strengths, benefits, challenges, and areas for improvement. This report provides a summary of the key themes and findings they surfaced.

In the wake of unprecedented challenges brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, the Ohio Association of Foodbanks traveled across the state, engaging in insightful interviews with recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). These conversations provided a platform for our neighbors to candidly reflect on the effects that the pandemic, inflation, and the current economic landscape are having on their lives here in Ohio. This lookbook emphasizes the experiences of individuals and families one year after the end of SNAP emergency allotments, while being met with the continued increase in food cost.