To the Editor:

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. Traffic at food pantries in our service area has jumped by an alarming 40% compared to last year.

Ohio’s food banks are struggling to meet the 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. 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 food bank 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 food banks to create a hunger-free, healthier Ohio. 

Matt Habash, president/CEO, Mid-Ohio Food Collective 

Grove City