News & Updates

Michael McKee, CEO of Blue Ridge Area Food Bank was awarded the 2024 John van Hengel Fellowship by Feeding America during the organization’s annual conference this week. Seven network members and affiliates were also recognized for their outstanding work, including: Arizona Food Bank Network, Facing Hunger Foodbank, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin, Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina, God’s Pantry Food Bank, Northern Illinois Food Bank, and Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

Ohio Association of Foodbanks is recognized for its pioneering approach to healthy food access by embracing the potential of a USDA program that incentivizes purchases from local producers for hunger relief activities. The partner state association worked diligently to foster trusting relationships among food banks and over 100 local farmers, most of whom were historically underserved by federal programs. Through direct dialogues, the state association helped partners agree on a unified aim of a resilient local supply chain with a pipeline for smaller growers. This approach balanced equitable prices and the scale needed to reach more people facing hunger.

USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Congressional Offices Tour Urban and Family Farms and Foodbank, Discuss Farm Bill Priorities

Partners from state and local agencies, Ohio foodbanks, and Ohio farmers highlight early success of Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program in Ohio, value of public-private partnerships, and importance of a Farm Bill rooted in food security

Ohio Association of Foodbanks executive director Lisa Hamler-Fugitt to retire after more than 20 years of leadership; Joree Novotny, long-tenured chief of staff, appointed as new executive director

Ohio House Democrats have introduced a bill that would use the state’s Rainy Day Fund in the event that a federal government shutdown causes gaps in food assistance programs.

“All these programs provide essential benefits for Ohioans, and we just can not afford to lose them, whatever happens in DC,” state Rep. Adam Miller, D-Columbus, told the Ohio House Families and Aging Committee on Tuesday.

House Bill 288 would use whatever funds are needed from the Budget Stabilization Fund (the official name for the Rainy Day Fund) to shore up the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), in the event of a government shutdown caused by the failure of U.S. Congress to pass a spending bill on time.

Ohio’s network of food pantries served more visitors at its emergency food pantries than at any time in its history, according to Joree Novotny, the executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

From October through December 2023, Ohio food banks served more than 3.8 million food pantry visitors, 30% of which were children, according to Novotny.

By comparison, during the same quarter in 2022, Ohio’s food banks served 3.1 million food pantry visitors. Food pantries in Ohio have never broken 3 million visitors in one quarter.

According to the U.S. Census, hunger in Ohio is above the national average. Ohio sits at 11.5% while the U.S. average is 10.4%.

Hundreds of Family Dollar stores are expected to close this year, including at least one in Dayton, and hundreds more could close in the next several years. Ohio is home to more than 400 Family Dollars, including 25 locations in Montgomery County, and some customers say they’d hate to see their local stores shut down.

Customers who shop there and at other Family Dollar locations in Dayton say they sell things they like to eat, such as canned goods, frozen foods, cereals, breads and TV dinners.

Research shows that food is one of the most commonly purchased items at dollar chain stores, but these stores usually do not offer a wide array of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and other items that contribute to a healthy, wholesome diet, said Joree Novotny, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks. Dollar stores in some communities pushed out grocery stores that sold a wider variety of fresh, wholesome and higher quality foods but that operated on very thin margins, Novotny said.

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.

Capitol Square is devoid of one of its most visible lobbyists -- for a while, at least.

The decision to step down from her role leading the Ohio Association of Foodbanks (OAF) was “bittersweet,” Lisa Hamler-Fugitt told Hannah News during a wide-ranging interview. (See The Hannah Report, 7/12/23.)

Story originally published in The Hannah Report on November 6, 2023. Copyright 2023 Hannah News Service, Inc.