food insecurity
“God doesn’t want people to be hungry;” advocates ask Ohio Senate for more funding for foodbanks
Advocates focused on ending hunger in Ohio gathered at the Statehouse Thursday for the Praying for our Daily Bread Faith Leaders luncheon to discuss solutions in the state’s proposed operating budget. The Ohio Association of Foodbanks would be funded $39,550,000 a year, as distributed by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services under the House’s […]
Let’s make Ohio work for working-class families
Every family in Ohio should be able to put food on the table and have a roof over their heads. But today, too many children go to bed hungry and too many working people are underpaid. Over the last two decades, corporate-backed politicians have prioritized tax giveaways to the wealthiest Ohioans over the economic security […]
U.S. House GOP plan would expand work requirements for food aid for older adults
WASHINGTON — Hundreds of thousands of low-income Americans could face higher barriers to food assistance under the U.S. House Republican plan to cut spending while temporarily lifting the debt limit, advocates say. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s Limit, Save, Grow Act proposes returning discretionary spending to fiscal 2022 levels in exchange for raising the nation’s borrowing […]
A pandemic experiment in universal free school meals gains traction in the states
WASHINGTON — Every public school kid in the United States was eligible for free school meals during the COVID-19 pandemic, regardless of family income, thanks to the federal government. While that’s now ended, a growing number of states across the country are enacting universal school meal laws to bolster child food security and academic equity. […]
Families are taking a hit as pandemic aid ends, inflation continues
Forty million people in the U.S. are having difficulty affording household expenses, and a little more than 25 million people say they sometimes or often do not have enough to eat, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent Household Pulse survey data. The survey is designed to collect data on household experiences during the […]
Groups pushing to get farm worker bill over the finish line
It’s vital to pass federal legislation reforming migrant worker visas to bring down food costs and to limit devastating levels of food waste, groups advocating for farmers and agricultural workers said last week. Already passed by the U.S. House, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021, could reach the floor of the U.S. Senate any […]
Ohio universities offer sustainable ways to combat student food and housing insecurity
The idea of college students with limited money surviving on Ramen noodles and domestic lager has become a common joke, but universities in Ohio take student food and housing insecurity seriously and many have built up programs to address the issues. The University of Akron, Kent State University, and Ohio State University offer unique programs […]
Studies show gains against childhood hunger were lost after child tax credit ended
An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association in October confirmed previous research that food insecurity increased substantially after the expiration of federal monthly advanced child tax credits on Jan. 15, 2022. The study looked at the period between January and July of this year in a series of national surveys, and found […]
Newest federal regulator wants the little guy to be the focus of antitrust enforcement
From groceries to prescriptions to paychecks, the modern American business landscape makes it increasingly difficult for poorer Americans to get what they need to survive, Alvaro Bedoya, the newest member of the Federal Trade Commission, said in an interview late last month. The consequences have taken the form of food and pharmacy "deserts" and in a paucity of jobs that pay a living wage. "I want to focus on the folks at the bottom of the ladder and are trying to move up and not fall off," he said.
Ohio farmers call for help
Ohio farmers and groups representing them say that they need access to foreign labor not just to get their products to market or to ease inflation. They say it’s a matter of national security. For the first time, next year, U.S. agricultural imports are expected to exceed the nation’s exports, according to the U.S. Department […]
World Food Day is Sunday and Ohio will be a focal point
One of the most celebrated holidays on the United Nations' calendar is Sunday, when more than 150 nations will celebrate World Food Day. And Ohio State will host North America's official session. Former Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and Jocelyn Brown Hall, director of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization for North America, will be among the speakers.
Economic inequality keeps getting worse, along with America’s toxic, corrupt politics
The most reliable economic fact for nearly 50 years is that American wealth and income inequality continues to explode. Alongside that we’ve seen rampant corruption and the toxic debasement of our politics. Meanwhile, hard-working Ohio and American families continue to suffer enormous hardship from poverty wages; childhood and family hunger; limited access to basic personal […]