Two new reports show there are as many Ohioans who are hungry or at risk of going hungry now as there were a year ago.
Lisa Hamler Fugitt with the Ohio Association of Foodbanks says the latest report actually shows the number of Ohioans who can’t provide food for themselves has ticked up a little bit.
Hamler Fugitt “Child hunger, also known by the USDA definition as food insecurity, continues to rise in the state of Ohio. In fact, 671,000 of Ohio’s children are now food insecure, meaning their families lack the resources to provide a minimum adequate diet for them. That is enough children to fill (…..the Ohio Stadium more than six times over.”) :27
Hamler Fugitt says the new report shows Ohio is now tied for third in the nation for the highest rates of very low food security. She says while the state has put money into some new food programs for poor Ohio children, the need is far greater than the supply. She intends to use this report to continue to lobby lawmakers at the state and federal level for more money for hunger programs.