Families still forced to choose between food and other necessities, Ohio study shows • Ohio Capital Journal (2024)

• Health Care

A new study found that Ohio families are still being forced to make hard decisions when it comes to basic expenses and meals.

The Ohio Association of Food Banks conducted a study called “Hunger in Ohio 2024” to “help guide the development of programs, policies and solutions that improve food security for individuals and their households and inform public awareness and policy development for addressing hunger in Ohio.”

“After enduring over a year of above-average inflation and rising costs for food and other essentials, paired with the expiration of pandemic-era Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in March 2023, Ohioans are visiting Ohio’s food bank network at record rates,” the OAF said in a statement announcing the study’s findings.

The OAF represents 12 Feeding America food banks and 3,600 “local hunger relief partners and programs.” For the study, the group surveyed more than 2,300 visitors to the state’s food pantries between April and May of this year.

Those pantries saw a 34% increase in the need for emergency grocery access between 2022 and 2023, or 14.66 million visits in that year, according to the association.

A similar study conducted by the OAF in 2023showed an elevated need as pandemic-era assistance began to lapse, but demand for food banks continued to rise.

The breakdown of 2024 survey participants showed that 3 in 4 households seeking help from the OAF network have annual incomes of less than $25,000, and 1 in 10 reported no income for the last year. Almost all survey-takers (96%) had annual household incomes that were less than the state median income of $66,950.

Of the households who participated, 49.2% said no one in the household was employed, with more than half of those who said they weren’t working attributing the lack of employment to illness or disability.

“Employment status is a critical factor affecting many households’ income and, thus, access to food,” the study stated.

With 59.3% of food pantry users reporting at least one household member with a chronic health condition, almost the same amount (57.8%) told researchers they were “forced to choose between affording food or affording medicine or medical care,” according to the study.

Despite the high occurrence of chronic illness within food pantry users, more than 10% of them don’t have health insurance, which the study found was 50% higher than the overall uninsured rate for Ohio.

“Consistent access to regular, nutritious meals is vital for maintaining overall health and well-being,” researchers wrote in the study. “Skipping meals can have serious consequences, including reduced energy, impaired focus and a weakened immune system.”

Among other things food pantry visitors said were tradeoffs with food were affording utilities, rent or mortgage payments, transportation costs, educational expenses and child care.

Of those eligible for federal assistance, more than 60% reported exhausting SNAP benefits in two weeks.

The OAF said the findings of the study demonstrate a need for “funding and safeguards” to be included in federal and state nutrition programs, the state’s biennial budget and federal measures like the Farm Bill.

“Ohio’s foodbanks are operating at full capacity, yet the demand continues to grow,” said Joree Novotny, executive director of the OAF, in a statement. “The fact that so many people are skipping meals and struggling to balance essential expenses highlights the urgent need for action.”

The last Farm Bill was passed in 2018, but has been extended over the years, with a current expiration date at the end of 2024. The legislation has its origins in agricultural issues and food production, but has broadened to include issues like conservation, rural development and low-income nutrition programs including SNAP.

“SNAP benefits should be set at an adequate level so families can purchase health foods,” the OAF said. “Strengthening SNAP benefits would also help older adults, people with disabilities, people working low-wage jobs and others who are most likely to qualify for the minimum benefit.”

The OAF also proposed Ohio invest $50 million per year in the 2026-2027 biennial budget “to support state funded food sourcing programs.”

“Investing $50 million annually in Ohio’s hunger relief network will be a vital step in addressing rising demand and ensuring that every family has access to essential food and household items,” Novotny said.