Just a Bite

On July 4th, 2025, President Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also known as HR1, which changed many aspects of nutrition programming in the United States. Among the multitude of provisions included in HR1 was the effective termination of all required funding for SNAP-Ed past September 30th, 2025. SNAP-Ed, which stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education, was a federally funded program that supported nutrition education and policy, systems, and environment changes in low-income communities. The removal of funding for SNAP-Ed will significantly impact low-income communities across the country and only widen healthcare disparities through the removal of vital nutrition education.  

We sat down with former SNAP-Ed staff members, Ana Claudia Zubieta, Pat Bebo, Mona Lisa Hoffman, and Marsha McCormick to hear about the incredible work SNAP-Ed has done throughout Ohio communities over the past 3 decades, and what the removal of funding for this program means for vulnerable Ohioans.  

References: 

For more information on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, visit https://benefits.ohio.gov/home/resources/assistance-programs/01-snap.  

Applying for SNAP is often a long and confusing process. But our network of application assisters are here to help! Visit www.ohiofoodbanks.org/get-help/apply-for-snap/ to get in contact with an application assister near you!  

You can find recipes from Celebrate Your Plate by visiting www.celebrateyourplate.org/.  

You can also find us on Instagram @celebrateyourplate, or by visiting https://www.instagram.com/celebrateyourplate/ , and on Pinterest @celebrateyourplate, or by visiting www.pinterest.com/celebrateyourplate/.  

For more information regarding the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, visit fcs.osu.edu/programs/nutrition/efnep. Visit today to find out if you are eligible, and where to find your nearest nutrition education program!  

You are likely eligible for WIC if you are a pregnant or breastfeeding woman; a woman who recently had a baby; are the parent of an infant’s birth through 12 months, or the parent of a child age 1 to 5 years; who are: 

Visit https://odh.ohio.gov/know-our-programs/women-infants-children for more information, and to find out if you are eligible!  

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Ohio Association of Foodbanks is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization without party affiliation or bias. We are Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger and our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need.   

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we’re kicking off the holiday season with a warm and joyful episode that celebrates gratitude, traditions, and all the delicious moments that make this time of year so special. This month we bring you a heartwarming look inside our office as staff members answer some fun and thoughtful Thanksgiving-inspired questions. From favorite to cherished memories to meaningful traditions, this episode is all about reflecting on what brings us together both around the table and within our community. You’ll hear stories that spark nostalgia, laughter, and maybe even a bit of hunger as we dive into everyone’s must-have holiday foods. Whether you're gearing up for your own celebration or just looking to get into the Thanksgiving spirit, this episode is sure to bring warmth to your day and remind you of the small joys that make this season meaningful. Hit play and join us in celebrating gratitude, togetherness, and the traditions that make Thanksgiving unforgettable. 

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review and subscribe to get episodes in your podcast feed as soon as we upload them every other week!       

Want more updates? Follow us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, and take  our latest hunger-fighting actions!      

Ohio Association of Foodbanks is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization without party affiliation or bias. We are Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger and our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need.   

In celebration of National Farmers Day on October 12th, we’re shining a spotlight on the hardworking individuals who are the backbone of our food system. In this special episode external affairs intern Lily Stenroos and external affairs manager Sarah Kuhns sit down with Alex Bieri from Michael Farms, a passionate advocate for sustainable agriculture and a dedicated voice in the farming community. Farming isn’t just about planting seeds, it’s about feeding communities, preserving the land, and carrying on traditions that shape our way of life. Alex shares the importance of midsized farm production and the process of getting fresh produce to stores like Kroger and Meijer. Whether you come from a farming background or just want to better understand where your food comes from, this heartfelt conversation will leave you with a deeper appreciation for the people behind the produce.  Don’t miss this powerful episode! Hit play and celebrate the farmers who nourish us all. 

References:  

For more information on Michael Farms, click here. For Farm Market location click here. Hours are Monday–Saturday, 9 AM – 5 PM during the farm season. 
 

Other helpful resources:  

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review and subscribe to get episodes in your podcast feed as soon as we upload them every other week!       

Want more updates? Follow us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, and take  our latest hunger-fighting actions!      

Ohio Association of Foodbanks is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization without party affiliation or bias. We are Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger and our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need.   

This Hunger Action Day, Director of Nutrition Policy and Programs at the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, Hope Lane-Gavin, sits down with Executive Director, Joree Novotny, to discuss the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (also referred to as HR 1 or Budget Reconciliation), and the expected impacts it will have on people facing hunger in the State of Ohio. HR1 was signed into law on July 4th, 2025, and includes many provisions that will impact those who rely on our network, and those who rely on public benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid. In a time when the cost of living continues to rise, and more people are turning to public assistance to make ends meet, HR1 introduces a dangerous new territory for public benefits across the country. Listen to hear more about how the ‘cost-savings’ approved in HR1 are expected to impact the real lives of Ohioans facing hunger.  

References:  

More than 130,000 Ohio households to see an $1,150 annual reduction in SNAP benefits, and rural counties are hit the hardest.   

SNAP, Medicaid, and Medicare in the federal reconciliation bill 

Food, housing, and healthcare costs are sources of major stress for many people - AP-NORC  

Why do grocery prices continue to rise? 

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review and subscribe to get episodes in your podcast feed as soon as we upload them every other week!       

Want more updates? Follow us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, and take our latest hunger-fighting actions!      

Ohio Association of Foodbanks is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization without party affiliation or bias. We are Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger, and our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need.   

Welcome back to Just a Bite! After a few months away, we are diving back in with a discussion with Ohio Association of Foodbanks Executive Director, Joree Novotny, to discuss the 2026-2027 Ohio State Biennium Operating Budget, and its impacts on our hunger relief network, and food insecure Ohioans. We are grateful to Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Tressel and the Ohio General Assembly for their continued commitment to Ohio’s hunger relief network in the biennial state budget.  

In the 2026-2027 biennial budget, our food bank network received a total of $24.55 million, which is $7.3 million less than the previous budget, returning the states biennial budget back pre-Covid funding levels. Although funding levels for hunger relief in the state of Ohio have returned to pre-covid levels, our network continues to see record breaking visits to our food banks each quarter. With fewer resources to feed our neighbors, and inflation continuing to rise, our capacity is stretching even thinner. Tune in to hear how this state budget is expected to impact on our network, our food programs, and our neighbors.  

References:  

Ohio Association of Foodbanks Statement on the Passage of Sub H.B. 96 - July 1, 2025 

Ohio Association of Foodbanks - 2024 Annual Report – see page 7 for a breakdown of food sources, as distributed.  

Learn more about the Ohio Food Program and Agricultural Clerance Program! 

Food Inflation in the United States - U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics 

For more information on the demand facing Ohio’s foodbanks, visit The Ohio Capital Journal  

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review and subscribe to get episodes in your podcast feed as soon as we upload them every other week!       

Want more updates? Follow us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, and take our latest hunger-fighting actions!      

Ohio Association of Foodbanks is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization without party affiliation or bias. We are Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger and our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need.   

Thank you for tuning in to this special episode of Just a Bite, featuring live audio from Friends of the Foodbanks Lobby Day on February 12, 2025. Our foodbank network and advocates met with Ohio’s 136th General Assembly to urge $50 million per year in state funding for the Ohio Agricultural Clearance Program (ACP) and Ohio Food Program (OFP)—essential resources that help foodbanks provide fresh, nutritious food to communities across the state. 

Despite record levels of need, state funding for these programs were cut by $7.5 million per year in Governor DeWine’s executive budget, reducing total funding to $24.55 million annually. We are calling on lawmakers to restore these cuts and increase funding to meet the growing demand. 

A special thank you to our luncheon panelists for sharing their invaluable insights on the connection between food access, agriculture, and community resilience: 

Please note that the audio isn’t ideal. We appreciate your understanding of this special episode and thank you for listening. 

References:  

Read recent news coverage on what these budget cuts mean for Ohio’s foodbanks. 
Ohio foodbanks face funding cuts in proposed state budget 
OH food banks face fed funding uncertainty DeWine budget cuts / Public News Service 
Food Banks in Ohio are raising the alarm about funding

Learn more about our request here: Our Statewide Request for Hunger Relief Funding in the 2026-27 State Biennial Budget - Ohio Association of Foodbanks 

Watch the full video referred to in the episode here: Friends of Foodbanks State Lobby Day Video 2025 

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review and subscribe to get episodes in your podcast feed as soon as we upload them every other week!       

Want more updates? Follow us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, and take our latest hunger-fighting actions!  

Ohio Association of Foodbanks is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization without party affiliation or bias. We are Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger and our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need.   

As we wrap up 2024, we focus on a topic that has transcended the emergency food assistance network over the past decade; Food is Medicine and Healthcare Partnerships. On April 9th, 2024, Ohio’s Medicaid managed care organizations (MCO) announced the launch of a collaborative initiative designed to build healthier communities and reduce inequities throughout the state of Ohio. This collaboration stems from the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) Next Generation of Medicaid Managed Care program, to focus on the individual rather than on the business of managed care. We sat down with Angela Weaver, Director of Regulatory Affairs at the Ohio Association of Health Plans, and Taylor Major-Dame, Food Access and Workforce Development Coordinator at Hocking Athens Perry Community Action (HAPCAP) to discuss their recent partnership on the HAPCAP for Health Market, located in Logan, Ohio. The Ohio Association of Health Plans recently made a community reinvestment to the HAPCAP for Health Market, to support choice and healthy eating in Southeast Ohio. Appalachian communities often suffer from food insecurity, lack of transportation, and lack of food access at astoundingly high rates. This episode will explore the depths and reasoning behind this partnership, and the goals of this community reinvestment from the Ohio Association of Health Plans, in addition to a discussion on some of the underlying social determinants of health (SDOH) facing neighbors across the state of Ohio.  

References:  

Learn more about the Partnership between the Ohio Association of Health Plans and HAPCAP: HAPCAP for Health Market, funded in part through Ohio’s Medicaid Managed Care Organizations Community Reinvestment Fund  

Other services through HAPCAP  

If you are unable to pick up food for your household, you may assign a proxy. What is a proxy shopper? For instructions on how to assign a proxy or any other questions, contact Southeast Ohio Foodbank at (740) 385-6813 ext. 2207.  

To learn more about the Food is Medicine Programs offered at all 12 of Ohio’s Feeding America member foodbanks, visit ohiofoodbanks.org/hungerandhealth/ 

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review and subscribe to get episodes in your podcast feed as soon as we upload them every other week!       

Want more updates? Follow us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, and take our latest hunger-fighting actions!      

Ohio Association of Foodbanks is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization without party affiliation or bias. We are Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger and our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need.   

As 2024 comes to a close, we’re wrapping up the year with a special holiday episode of Just a Bite! Join host Audrey Vanzant, Director of Communications at the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, as she sits down with the incredible team from Second Harvest Food Bank of Champaign, Clark, and Logan Counties (CCL). Together, we offer a behind-the-scenes look at the world of foodbanking, share stories, insights, and inspiration for how you can support your local foodbanks—not just during the holidays, but every day. 

Audrey chats with Jennifer, CCL’s Development Director, about the critical role of monetary donations and the challenges of inflation on foodbank budgets. Then, Sarah, Operations Director, discusses creative ways to get involved year-round, from hosting food drives to volunteering. Finally, we hear from Mrs. Debbie, a dedicated volunteer who shares heartfelt stories about the importance of giving back to the community. 

References:   

Find your local foodbank to find help, volunteer, and donate here. 

Donate or get involved at Second Harvest Food Bank of Champaign, Clark, and Logan Counties here. 

View our entire 2024 Hunger Study here. 

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review and subscribe to get episodes in your podcast feed as soon as we upload them every other week!        

Want more updates? Follow us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, and take our latest hunger-fighting actions!       

Ohio Association of Foodbanks is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization without party affiliation or bias. We are Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger and our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need. 

This Veterans Day, we honor those who have served in the United States Military. About 1 in 9 working-age veterans experience food insecurity, with 24% of active-duty service members recorded as food insecure in 2020 (Feeding America). According to the United States Department of Agriculture, working-age veterans are at a greater risk (7.4%) of experiencing food insecurity compared to non-veterans. For disabled veterans, this number of food insecure military families rises nearly three times to 22.5% (USDA-ERS). 1.2 million low-income veterans utilize the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program (SNAP) to ease the impacts of food insecurity on veteran households (Feeding America). Our guest, Kimberly Hazelgrove, Advocacy Coordinator at the Second Harvest Foodbank of North Central Ohio, shares with us her experience as an Ohio veteran, and the lived experience of many military households across the nation. Kimberly shares her firsthand experience with the barriers military families face such as low pay, geographic isolation, physical and mental health struggles, and grief.  

We want to thank Kimberly for her vulnerability and her willingness to speak with us about her life and lived experience as a veteran, widow, active member, and advocate. Thank you for trusting us with your story and your thoughts. Thank you to all those who have served our country in the United States Military, as we honor you, and those who have lost their lives fighting for our country, this Veterans Day.  

References: 

Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors – Caring for Families of Americas Heros: TAPS 

Find an Ohio County Veterans Service Offices: Ohio Department of Veterans Services 

Determining Veterans Status – Verification Assistance Brief: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 

Ohio Inter-Service Family Assistance Committee (ISFAC) – State and Regional Partnership in Support of Ohio’s Military.  

Gold Star Spouses of America -  goldstarspouses.org - Serving surviving spouses of America’s fallen service members and veterans

Find your local foodbank to find help, volunteer, and donate here.      

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review and subscribe to get episodes in your podcast feed as soon as we upload them every other week!       

Want more updates? Follow us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, and take our latest hunger-fighting actions!      

Ohio Association of Foodbanks is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization without party affiliation or bias. We are Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger and our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need.   

Ohio Association of Foodbanks, like the rest of the country, have been counting down the days until November 5 but Ohioans can vote early from October 8 through the election. We know that in this country, our elections can have a tremendous impact on hunger and in this upcoming election, we can work to elect and hold accountable leaders of any political party, who care about hunger. On top of the tireless work of providing emergency food assistance to Ohioans, Ohio foodbanks also have been working to inform their neighbors about the election ahead and the impact that their vote has. During this election, we talk with Hallie Carrino-Lee with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective and Elisabeth Warner of the League of Women Voters of Ohio about the role non-profits play in providing nonpartisan voter education and support and why it is so critical. Take a listen! 

References:  

November Election important dates: 

Check your voter registration, view the voter ID requirements, and look up your sample ballot and polling locations HERE.  

Are you worried that you might be told you have to vote provisionally this election? Don’t worry! You likely have additional steps you have to take after you cast your provisional ballot to provide the Board of Elections more information. Learn more here.  

Please consider being a poll worker this election! You can learn more information and sign up HERE. 

Show off your passion for ending hunger AND voting by buying a “Vote to End Hunger” shirt!  

Learn more about the work nonprofits can do during election season: 

Learn more about our guests!  

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review and subscribe to get episodes in your podcast feed as soon as we upload them every other week!       

Want more updates? Follow us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, and take our latest hunger-fighting actions!      

Ohio Association of Foodbanks is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization without party affiliation or bias. We are Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger and our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need.