When Hunger Hits Home in Ohio: SNAP Cuts, State Response & the Work Ahead

If you want to know what hunger looks like in Ohio, don’t look at statistics. Look at the tired mother in the Aldi parking lot calculating what she can leave behind. Look at the child grabbing two packets of ketchup from a cafeteria tray and calling it dinner. Look at whole families in Westerville motels off Morse Road, living out of one room, a little microwave, and a prayer.

That’s the moral catastrophe our state is rushing toward as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — that lifeline for so many — teeters on the edge. And though Governor DeWine has moved, the hardest blow still falls on our most marginalized communities across Franklin County.

The Hunger Math Doesn’t Add Up (Local Edition)

In Ohio, more than 1 in 7 children face food insecurity. The number in Franklin County is even worse when you factor in rising rent, inflation, and stretched safety nets. Roughly 1.4 million Ohioans receive SNAP benefits. But as of November 2025, federal SNAP payments risk suspension because of the ongoing federal government shutdown. Cutting SNAP isn’t “budget discipline” — it’s defaulting on the promise that no child in Westerville, no mother outside Aldi, no family in a motel should go hungry.

The Local Frontline: Who Suffers Most

Let’s call the names.

• Black, brown and immigrant families already squeezed by housing and job instability. When SNAP shrinks, they’re the first to fall.

• Single mothers and children in shelters across the region, families that are already doing the hard, un-seen work.

• Older adults and disabled Ohioans on fixed incomes — when the pantry empties, they don’t get to choose the cheaper luxury.As we watch in Westerville and along Morse Road, the ripple spreads: local food banks such as Mid‑Ohio Food Collective and other regional charities are being pushed to the brink.

  
  

What Governor DeWine Is Doing (And What He’s Leaving Unsaid)

I’ll give credit where it’s due: Governor DeWine recently signed an executive order allocating up to $25 million in state funds to blunt the SNAP hit.

The breakdown:

• $7 million to regional food banks via TANF funds.

• Up to $18 million in “emergency relief benefits” for more than 63,000 Ohioans, including over 57,000 children, in the state’s Ohio Works First program (families at or below 50% of federal poverty level).

• Weekly benefit payments for eligible families (rather than monthly) to make distribution more responsive while SNAP is in limbo.

Governor DeWine emphasized: “While we will always do everything we can to support Ohioans who need it most, this is not a viable, long-term solution. SNAP is a federal program that is specifically federally funded.”

So here’s the rub: Yes — the state stepping up helps. But the solution is still incomplete. SNAP serves ~1.4 million people in Ohio. The state funds extend only to a fraction of those, and many families may still fall through the crack. And this remains a stop-gap, not a structural fix.Moreover, when you hear the Governor say “this is not a substitute for SNAP,” he’s correct — but also, we shouldn’t accept one-quarter-measures when full meals are at stake.

What’s At Stake Here (And Why It Matters in Westerville)

When SNAP benefits disappear, or shrink:

• Food insecurity spikes. Families skip meals, kids go to school hungry, mothers skip paying rent to buy cereal.

• Health declines: Poor nutrition = higher chronic illness. In communities already underserved, the long-term cost is massive.

• Economic ripple: SNAP benefits don’t just feed people. They fuel local groceries, bodegas, food workers — when the dollars vanish, the local economy takes a hit.

• Inequality deepens: The families who survive this cut hardest are the ones already in liminal spaces — immigrant households, non-traditional caregivers, people walking between worlds (yes, I see you).

In Westerville and across Columbus, when a bag of groceries becomes a luxury, when the motel room becomes home — that’s not just a personal tragedy. It’s a civic failure.

What We Need To Demand (And What We’re Doing)

Here’s where my “Tenacious Empathy” mission kicks in:

• We must demand full restoration and protection of the SNAP program. No cuts, no loopholes, no “let them starve for leverage.”

• We need state-level contingency plans that don’t just patch holes, but fully feed families when federal programs wobble.

• We must push for disaggregated data showing how these cuts affect race, gender, age, ability — because justice demands it.

• And as for local action: I’m collecting donations to assemble food bags for kids, moms, families in shelters and motels right here in Columbus/Westerville. Each bag includes shelf-stable food, snacks, hygiene items, and a note: “You are seen. You are loved. You are not forgotten.”

If you want to help, go to TenaciousEmpathy.com or contact me directly. Every $10 helps feed someone for a day. Every bag is an act of resistance against indifference.

Final Word

Let us call it what it is: ending or gutting SNAP benefits is telling millions of our fellow Ohioans — our neighbors — “you’re on your own.” It says to single-parent households, immigrant families, veterans on fixed incomes: “Your hunger is acceptable collateral.”That, Erica, can’t stand. It violates racial justice, economic justice, human dignity.So let us walk that threshold, you and me — between despair and action. Between “they might starve” and “we will feed them.” Because hunger isn’t inevitable. A choice was made to let it happen. And we will make a choice to stop it..

Sources & Further Reading

• Ohio Capital Journal: “DeWine orders $25 million in TANF funds to food banks and Ohio Works First recipients” (Oct 31 2025)

• WLWT Cincinnati: “Governor DeWine announces $25M food assistance plan amid SNAP uncertainty” (Oct 30 2025)

• Health Policy Institute of Ohio: “Graphic of the Week: SNAP benefits in Ohio” (Oct 31 2025)

• Cleveland 19 News: “No action at Ohio Statehouse, SNAP stopgap expires this weekend” (Oct 30 2025)

• State News Service: “Ohio kicks in $25M for food assistance as shutdown drags on” (Oct 30 2025)