Across Ohio, the need for the emergency food assistance network continues to rise. In the five-county region served by Shared Harvest Foodbank, the foodbank has more than doubled its food distribution since 2007.
Speaker of the House John Boehner’s 8th Congressional District falls almost entirely within Shared Harvest’s region. Like many other districts in Ohio and across the country, childhood poverty is on the rise in Boehner’s district. Nearly 30,000 children, or over 19 percent of children in the 8th District, are living below the federal poverty level. Overall, 14 percent of Ohioans in the 8th District are living in poverty.
The story painted by these numbers is not unique to the 8th District; it is a story prevalent throughout Ohio. Shared Harvest’s Executive Director, Tina Osso, has struggled to draw attention to the needs of the people her foodbank serves. Osso hopes that a shift in perception of poverty will result from the Great Recession.
“I think the best thing that could come out of this Great Recession is for people to understand that it only takes one or two paychecks for most people before they’re standing in line (for food assistance),” says Osso.
OASHF works together with commodity partners across Ohio to direct surplus and unmarketable agricultural products to hungry Ohioans. Read more about the Ohio Agriculture Clearance Program and other innovate programs here: http://www.oashf.org/programs/
To read more from Tina Osso’s interview with The Nation, visit The Nation’s blog.
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