West Ohio Food Bank continues to find ways to fight insecurity, after facing USDA cuts

LIMA, Oh (WLIO) — The federal government continues to make cuts to employees and funding, leaving food banks across the nation searching for solutions after the U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled half a billion dollars in food that was originally budgeted for this year.

The West Ohio Food Bank says the cuts will result in the loss of more than 100,000 pounds of high-protein items, such as meat and eggs, between May and September. That food would have been distributed to people facing food insecurity in the region.

“And now is not a time to be taken that food from seniors, working families and children. Grocery prices are so high right now that we are seeing more and more individuals coming through our lines. Last year alone, we've seen record numbers over even when we had COVID, and that's like almost 40,000 new people coming through those food lines,” said Tommie Harner, CEO of the West Ohio Food Bank.

Despite the loss of $209,000 in federal food funding, the West Ohio Food Bank is working with other agencies to minimize the impact of the USDA cuts.

“So, our partnership with Feeding America and the Ohio Association of Food Banks are really important and vital to what we do. That gives us access to our retail partners, like Walmart, Kroger, Meijer, different stores like that. Our partnership with the Association of Food Banks in Ohio gives us access to budget funds that come through the state budget, so we are currently advocating to get more funding through that process as well, just to again, help meet this increased demand,” added Harner.

Harner wants to reassure the community that the West Ohio Food Bank remains committed to fighting food insecurity across the 11-county region it serves.

“And we just ask that if anybody wants to help us, just advocate with our local, state and federal officials to get support for these vital food programs that all the food banks rely on,” said Harner.