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Pressure is rising on Ohio’s foodbanks, now serving more people than ever

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Though there are signs the U.S. economy is strong, millions of Ohioans are still struggling to afford the basics. And in the 17 months since the federal government ended pandemic-related emergency food benefits, demand has been rising at foodbanks and food pantries in Ohio.

Before the pandemic, the Ohio Association of Foodbanks said the state’s 12 regional foodbanks were serving about 2 million Ohioans each quarter.

Shelves at a food pantry are stocked with packaged goods and produce.
A food pantry in south Columbus is set up like a market, where clients can get fresh produce as well as other items. [Karen Kasler | Statehouse News Bureau]
“And now we’re serving 3.6 to 3.8 million food pantry visitors every quarter. We had never hit more than 3 million food pantry visits in a quarter. And now we’re approaching 4 million in a quarter,” said Joree Novotny, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

Some foodbanks are expanding to meet the need. And Novotny said this year, there are changes to the summer food program. There are still sites where kids can come to get meals, but there are also places where families can pick up a week’s worth of food for their kids. And the new SUN Bucks program provides families an extra $120 per child via electronic benefits transfer while school’s out.

She said while that’s helping families with kids this summer, there are older Ohioans whose retirement incomes aren’t keeping pace. So with soaring housing, rent and mortgage rates, rising utilities costs and expensive child care, many Ohioans are still falling behind.

“The benefits that are available to families with low and moderate incomes aren’t keeping up with the cost of basic needs,” Novotny said.

Foodbanks depend on the federal Farm Bill, which also funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, also known as food stamps. In November, a continuation of the 2018 Farm Bill was signed by President Biden. That extension expires Sept. 30. Novotny said if the Farm Bill that passed a House committee in May doesn’t pass by then, Congress would have to pass another continuing resolution to keep funding in place.

“The food banks are not built to respond to giant gaps in our federal nutrition safety net, and unfortunately, those gaps are growing rapidly,” Novotny said. “So we need strong SNAP benefits. We need people to be able to spend those benefits in their local grocery stores.”