Hunger assistance, student meal support, take hits in final Ohio House budget draft

Anti-hunger advocates saw a mixed bag with the final Ohio House version of the state budget, and they’re hoping to claw back some losses via the Senate’s draft.

The House’s budget was approved by the chamber on Wednesday with only five Republicans voting against it.

It maintained some reductions to a children’s hunger initiative, and gave food banks across the state only “core funding,” without an increase that they say they need as the number of people asking for food continues to increase. And federal food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) often doesn’t cover the needs of Ohio residents.

The final House budget draft still includes SNAP work requirements and regulations, some of which were in Gov. Mike DeWine’s executive budget, and some were added by the House.

The Children’s Hunger Alliance will still fight against cuts to its programs as the budget moves to the Senate. DeWine’s proposal asked for $3.75 million each year in federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds to be given to the alliance. The House reduced that amount to $2.5 million.

The cut could cause major problems for children in Ohio who need the help, according to the alliance. They include 2.8 million fewer meals and a doubling of the number of schools on a waitlist to join the program.

The hunger alliance’s president and CEO, Michelle Brown, said Columbiana and Athens counties would lose 150,000 meals in an Appalachian region that sees significant food insecurity already.

“We are urging the Senate to honor their commitment to children and by increasing CHA’s funding by $2.5 million over the biennium, to restore flat funding as proposed by the governor,” the alliance said in a statement after the House budget was passed.

The Hunger Network in Ohio criticized not only the hunger program cuts, but also cuts to the Fair School Funding Plan and the Housing Trust Fund. The network pressed the Senate to “adopt fiscally responsible investments to create a stronger Ohio that prioritizes Ohio neighbors who are struggling to make ends meet.”

The House-passed version of the bill didn’t include a provision of DeWine’s budget that would have provided free breakfast or lunch to school districts that participate in federal school meal programs and have a student population with at least 25% eligible for free or reduced-priced meals.

The measure removed from the budget by the House used the federal Community Eligibility Provision, something that also could be up for cuts on the federal end. The provision allows schools to participate based on the percentage of students in a school district who participate in other assistance programs like SNAP and TANF. Currently, schools are eligible if they have up to 40% participation in such programs.

Earlier this year, a congressional committee proposed changing the eligibility level for the provision. It would raise the participation percentage to 60%, a change that hunger relief advocates said could impact more than 280,000 Ohio children, and millions nationwide.

The House budget did retain DeWine’s language on the state’s school meal programs. It would reimburse districts to allow those eligible for reduced-priced meals to receive them for free. The previous state operating budget included $4 million for that purpose.

For the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, an earmark from TANF dollars of up to $24.5 million a year made it from the governor’s budget proposal to the House’s draft. The association is expected to use the money for food distribution, summer meal programs, SNAP outreach and even free tax filing services, according to budget documents. The provision also mentions “capacity building” equipment as part of the earmarked funding.

But the group still sees the need to fight for more on the Senate side, especially amid increasing demand and potential cuts to federal food assistance. The U.S. House passed a budget on Thursday, with funding cuts that could number in the trillions. They could include at least $880 billion in programs such as the SNAP program.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities stated at least $230 billion in federal cuts have been proposed through 2034 from the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, overseers the SNAP program, and reductions could come “largely or entirely” from SNAP.

Data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services noted nearly 1.5 million SNAP recipients in the state as of last month.

The association’s executive director, Joree Novotny, said the group plans to ask the Senate to add $4.93 million per fiscal year to help offset rising food costs and allow the food banks to continue to source food locally.

“Since 2020, food prices have surged by nearly 24%, meaning the same level of funding buys significantly less, both in consumers’ grocery carts and in our own purchasing power as a statewide hunger relief network,” Novotny said in a statement. “…With modest additional support, Ohio’s foodbanks will continue to stretch every dollar to maintain access to healthy foods when seniors and working families are forced to turn to us for help.”

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Susan Tebben

Susan Tebben is an award-winning journalist with a decade of experience covering Ohio news, including courts and crime, Appalachian social issues, government, education, diversity and culture. She has worked for The Newark Advocate, The Glasgow (KY) Daily Times, The Athens Messenger, and WOUB Public Media. She has also had work featured on National Public Radio.

Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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