As part of Gov. Mike DeWine’s budget proposal, food banks across Ohio could see a significant reduction in the amount of state funding they receive. Most of this is due to the loss of what had been a one-time $7.5 million appropriation in the previous budget.

But that decrease has food bank organizers worried.

“It’s about 3.4 million Ohioans who live in households that are under that income limit (200 percent of the federal poverty line),” Joree Novotny, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, told the Ohio Capital Journal. “SNAP in Ohio, there’s only about 1.5 million Ohioans who are currently eligible and participating.

So, there’s a wide gap of people who are maybe experiencing food hardship that can’t turn to the SNAP program for help, that are still going to lean on us.”

There is a disconnect between what the politicians in Columbus believe is happening and what Novotny sees.

State Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, House finance chairman, told the Capital Journal he did not understand how it is possible that food banks are seeing increased need. He pointed out unemployment in the state is relatively low and there are many open jobs.

“Food banks are meant to be a supplement,” he told the Capital Journal, and went on to note we are past the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic or the Great Recession.

But according to Novotny, the reality doesn’t match Stewart’s perception.

“We’re serving more people than we ever have,” Novotny said. “July through December, we served more food pantry visitors in six months than we ever have in any six-month period.”

So what can we do about it?

Well, as lawmakers debate the next budget, food bank organizers and those representing other community groups can reach out to their representatives — let them know what’s really happening to Ohio families.

And the rest of us? We can act now, and regularly to support our local food banks, rather than waiting for holidays or special food drives. And we must remember support means more than a few cans of soup. It means understanding the needs of our food pantries and working to meet them through planned donations of food and money. They use the money to purchase food that fills in the gaps (or is fresher) after non-perishable goods have been donated. A lot of that money goes to local or regional farmers.

Don’t wait for members of the Legislature to sort this one out. Do what you can to help, now.