COLUMBUS – The head of Ohio’s largest foodbank is calling on state senators to restore $15 million in annual funding that pays for food handed out to needy families before they vote on a two-year operating budget this week.
The proposal to reduce funding for the state’s food pantries comes at a time of rapidly increasing demand, according to Matt Habash, president and CEO of the Grove City-based Mid-Ohio Food Collective.
“Ohio’s foodbanks are struggling to meet…surging demand, while coping with rising food costs — just like families across the state. And yet, the Ohio Senate is preparing to remove $15 million per year in hunger relief funding from the proposed two-year state budget, funds previously added by the Ohio House of Representatives,” Habash wrote in a statement Friday.
The Senate is expected to vote on its version of the $85.7 billion spending plan on Wednesday.
Traffic at Ohio’s food percent has increased by 40% compared to last year, Habash said.
In my almost 40 years leading Mid-Ohio Food Collective, I can honestly tell you that hunger in central and eastern Ohio is at unprecedented levels. Parents are skipping meals to feed their children. Seniors and veterans are choosing between medicine and food. Continued inflation is eating into wages…The Senate funding cut, coupled with a raft of new, harsh limitations to programs that help Ohioans, would do serious, lasting harm to Ohio’s children, seniors, and working families.
We ask the Ohio Senate majority caucus to restore funding for Ohio’s foodbank network and remove the proposed barriers to needed assistance. It is time for Ohio’s elected leaders to come together with Mid-Ohio Food Collective and Ohio’s foodbanks to create a hunger-free, healthier Ohio. -Matt Habash, pres./CEO Mid-Ohio Food Collective