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Matt Habash is the president and CEO of the Mid-Ohio Food Collective. The organization connects nutritious food in 20 Ohio counties.
Mid-Ohio Food Collective announced the final touch of its “Rooted in You” crusade on May 9.
It began with a fundraising purpose to implement cutting-edge methods to eliminate hunger. These answers come with Mid-Ohio Markets, which will become nutritious foods while offering consumers a stigma-free shopping experience. We announce the end of the crusade at the opening of the new Mid-Ohio Market on Norton Road.
Also: The fundraising purpose of the Mid-Ohio Food Collective $30 million. It reached $41 million.
The money raised will also allow us to expand operations at Mid-Ohio Farm so we can grow more food and exercise a new generation of farmers. We are also creating a physically powerful information and data platform that will help us better understand the needs of visitors. of business, philanthropic and network leaders, we have exceeded our goal. We are infinitely grateful for the one on the network.
As we celebrate the good fortune of the campaign, we know that our paintings remain vitally important. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the household food index increased by 10% in the last 12 months, the largest accumulation since March 1981. As grocery prices, rent, and fuel rise, more and more people are turning to Mid-Ohio Food. Collective and our partner agencies.
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We set all-time records at our on-site pantry in Grove City, where we served families more than 15,000 times in April. day of its official inauguration.
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However, supply chain disruptions and reduced food donations make it more complicated and expensive to unload food.
We are not in this case. In the Feeding America network, to which the Mid-Ohio Food Collective belongs, food banks are buying almost as many foods as in 2021, but paying 40% more.
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In the past six months, 55% of Feeding America’s food banks reported a decline in food donations. Rising prices for consumers and a potential reduction in SNAP mean we will continue to see high levels of need.
Simply “finding a job” is not the solution to eliminating hunger. Ohio’s unemployment rate is 4%. We know that Ohioans work hard to help themselves and their families; some have multiple jobs. But for many families, one or more paychecks are enough to cover their expenses, especially when wages aren’t enough to cover living expenses.
Our doors will remain open, but we want immediate government help to solve existing supply chain issues and better serve our customers. exemptions for children’s nutrition.
At the state level, the Ohio Food Bank Association has a $183 million public budget from the American Rescue Plan Act to procure food and non-public care items and to build the long-term capacity of its network of 12 food banks to ensure they are supplied for long-term crises.
We urge state and federal legislators to approve those requests so we can continue to put food on families’ tables.
More: Pantry in Ohio, Greater Columbus to fuel hunger amid runaway inflation
The Mid-Ohio Food Collective cannot meet this overwhelming need without community support. Every donation and hour of volunteering helps us feed our hungry neighbors. We offer a variety of volunteer opportunities ranging from sorting and packing food in the pantry to preparing food in the kitchen to help shoppers in our markets.
Financial donations to the Mid-Ohio Food Collective will help us provide more food for residents. Information on volunteering and donations is available at mofc. org.
Access to healthy food is a basic human right. The Mid-Ohio Food Collective’s project is to co-create hunger-free communities, and we will want everyone’s help to make that possible.
Matt Habash is the president and CEO of the Mid-Ohio Food Collective. The organization connects nutritious food in 20 Ohio counties.
This article was originally published in The Columbus Dispatch: Opinion: Pantry wants donations to meet demand