DeWine’s budget includes millions of dollars cut from funding for food banks

COLUMBUS, Ohio — High prices at the grocery store have led to record need at Ohio’s food banks, according to the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, but this year’s state budget calls for cutting millions of dollars in funding.

For the last two years, food banks have received $32 million in funding. This year’s budget will eliminate $7.5 million of that.

According to the Ohio Office of Budget and Management (OBM), the $7.5 million was included in the budget in the last few years and was meant to be temporary.

“The upcoming FY 2026-2027 budget is back to normal funding levels, supporting ongoing programs. The Ohio Association of Foodbanks is proposed to receive flat ongoing funding at $24,550,000 in this budget,” an OBM spokesperson said.

Joree Novotny of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks said the current need is higher than it was in the last few years when the state allocated additional funding.

“For us to be in a situation where we are trying to go back to normal, what we are seeing in our lines now is anything but normal. We served more people from July to December at our food pantries, about 2,000 of them across all 88 counties in Ohio, than we have in any other six-month period in our 35-year history,” Novotny said.

The money is used for state-sponsored food bank programs. Novotny said the impact could be felt by local food pantries if the money is eliminated.

Lancaster-Fairfield Community Action Agency is already working with more limited resources as the need grows.

“We are straining a little bit in trying to keep our shelves full and keeping our inventory in stock for folks who need it,” said Executive Director Randall Hunt.

The pantry serves about 6,000 people across Fairfield County. Seventy percent of its food comes from the Mid-Ohio Food Bank, which would be impacted by the budget cuts.

“We have been seeing an increase in a number of folks who need the pantry, but at the same time we have also seen constraints in our inventory due to current circumstances with the price of groceries going up and it is just like an individual’s household — your dollars don’t go as far when you purchase,” Hunt said.

Novotny said advocates plan to continue having discussions and hope the funding will be restored before the budget is passed.