Food Programs

The Ohio Food Program makes nutritious, shelf-stable food and protein items available to Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks. Through funding made possible by the State of Ohio, and in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and dozens of vendors and producers, the Ohio Food Program (OFP) provides millions of pounds of center-of-the-plate foods to hungry Ohio households each year. It provides a vital supplement to products available through federal programs like The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which normally directs only certain commodities in surplus to the charitable hunger relief network. The association receives bids, awards contracts, and distributes purchased food to member foodbanks, which in turn distribute that food throughout Ohio.

To learn more about recent outcomes of the Ohio Food Program, view our latest annual report. If you are a vendor or producer and are interested in learning more about how you can participate with OFP, please contact Carol Whitmer at carol@ohiofoodbanks.org. 

The Ohio Agricultural Clearance Program (OACP) directs surplus or unmarketable agricultural products from nearly 100 Ohio farmers, growers and producers to Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks. The program provides tens of millions of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to hungry Ohio households each year and is funded by the State of Ohio in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. This program, which provides some of the most nutritious food available through the emergency hunger relief network at just pennies on the pound, also prevents unnecessary waste at Ohio farms and supports local agricultural jobs. 

To learn more about recent outcomes of the Ohio Agricultural Clearance Program, view our latest annual report. If you are a farmer, grower or producer and are interested in learning more about how you can participate with OACP, please contact Erin Wright at erin@ohiofoodbanks.org. 

In 2012, the Ohio Association of Foodbanks partnered with the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives to launch a summer weekend meals program to provide state funding for take-home weekend meals for children attending summer feeding sites during the week. In 2013, the initiative expanded to include the summer rural delivery meals program and the mobile farmers market program.

The summer weekend meals program provides six kid-friendly, shelf-stable weekend meals to about 10,000 children each week for 10 weeks during the summer. The summer rural delivery meals program provides 11 kid-friendly, shelf-stable meals to about 2,000 children each week who have transportation and access barriers that make attending other summer meals programs difficult. The mobile farmers market program provides fresh produce and popular protein items to families with children participating in the summer weekend meals or summer rural delivery meals programs.

To learn more about recent outcomes of these child nutrition programs, view our latest report. If you are a summer child nutrition program provider interested in learning more about how to participate, please contact Carrie Harshbarger at charshbarger@ohiofoodbanks.org.

The USDA announced funding for the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) Program through cooperative agreements in 2022. This funding will connect local, historically underrepresented or socially disadvantaged producers with our foodbank network, directing locally grown, raised, and produced foods to food insecure Ohioans while sustaining and expanding local agricultural supply chains.

The Ohio Association of Foodbanks is proud to be lead partners with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the Ohio Department of Agriculture, and the Ohio Department of Education on executing Ohio's LFPA - Ohio CAN (Community + Agriculture + Nutrition). To learn more about Ohio CAN, visit the Ohio Department of Agriculture's Ohio CAN web page. You can contact Carrie Harshbarger on our team for more information at charshbarger@ohiofoodbanks.org.