Ohio food banks to get $15 million from American Rescue Plan Act

COLUMBUS — Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration is using federal stimulus money to grant $15 million worth of Ohio-produced meat, eggs and dairy products to Ohio food banks.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services will use the money to acquire and transport the products to the 13 regional food banks across the state. The amount is a fraction of the $183 million that food banks previously had requested, including $50 million in food.

The funding will come from the American Rescue Plan Act, signed by Democratic President Joe Biden in 2021, shortly after he took office. The Ohio Controlling Board, a panel of governor’s office officials and Republican and Democratic state lawmakers, approved the spending on Monday.

Bryan Stout, the legislative liaison for the Ohio JFS, told controlling board members on Monday that he wasn’t sure why the state settled on $15 million. But he said food banks have raised concerns specifically about the shortage of meat and dairy products.

“This request is an effort to use federal funds to meet an immediate need of the citizens of Ohio while also supporting Ohio-based producers,” he said. “This is why we ended up on this versus more of a catch-all request for all foodstuffs that may or may not be produced in the state.”

A written funding request from the DeWine administration to the controlling board tied the funding to increased inflation, saying rising costs “have made it more difficult for more Ohioans to afford the food they need for families, and many are turning to foodbanks to fill this need.”

Following Monday’s vote, Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, issued a statement thanking DeWine and state legislative leaders for supporting the grant.

Hamler-Fugitt said the food bank association continues to lobby the DeWine administration for its full funding request, including money for capital expenses and non-animal protein products like canned fruits and vegetables.

“Demand is continuing to rise as the cost of living and inflation is increasing on nearly all basic needs for food, housing, utilities, gas, transportation, medicine, and medical care that are stretching Ohioans budgets to the breaking point,” Hamler-Fugitt said.

In other business on Monday, the controlling board also approved a DeWine administration request to spend $18.2 million in federal ARPA money on the state’s efforts to coordinate and distribute COVID-19 vaccines.