Nearly half of households using Ohio food banks have had to choose between paying for rent or food
The survey also found 63% chose between transportation or food and 52% skipped meals, as SNAP cuts strip benefits from over 100,000 Ohioans.
Poverty
SNAP cuts could lead to kids losing free school breakfast and lunch
Since 5.6 million people lost SNAP nationally, schools with mixed income levels risk losing federal funding formulas tied to enrollment, even in universal meal states.
More rural hospital closures would mean long drives for pregnant women seeking obstetric care
KFF researchers say Trump's tax law could push more thin-margin rural hospitals to close obstetric units, with Ohio currently among states with the shortest drive times.
Jon Husted voted to cut food aid for hungry families. Ohio now has 50,000 fewer children on SNAP
More than 107,000 fewer Ohioans receive food assistance, including 50,477 fewer children, as new restrictions Husted backed take effect.
Tiffin City Schools offers free breakfast and lunch to all K-12 students in 2026-27
Ohio funds no universal free-lunch program, so Tiffin qualified for a federal option requiring 25% of students already on aid like SNAP or Medicaid.
More on Poverty
Ohio bill would create a limit on reimbursement rates for foster care placements
Officials say providers charge counties unlimited daily rates for hard-to-place children, with one Scioto County case nearing $1 million a year.
Despite record low in veteran homelessness, half the states saw increases
Oregon saw the biggest jump at 16% and Mississippi rose 88%, while California cut its homeless veteran population by 624 to lead national declines.
Hundreds of thousands of Ohioans have lost Medicaid coverage, and that could double
‘Healthcare should be a right, not a privilege,’ says Ohio state Rep. Anita Somani.
Head Start changes could eliminate important child health and safety standards in Ohio, nationally
The rule would let Ohio set its own teacher-to-child ratios, potentially raising classroom sizes from 1-to-4 infants to as many as 1-to-14 preschoolers.
Trump administration threatens to gut Head Start rules
Advocates warn losing disability screening and staffing standards could weaken outcomes for the roughly 70,000 California children Head Start currently serves.
States sue Trump administration over plan to share antipoverty program data
24 states and D.C. sue to block an Aug. 11 rule forcing them to hand over TANF recipients' Social Security numbers and immigration status.
More than 1 million Ohioans aren’t getting essential safety-net benefits, analysis shows
Just 1 in 5 eligible Ohio households got energy assistance in 2023, and federal SNAP cuts of $186 billion could push participation even lower.
Ohio will soon get new Medicaid work requirements. Here’s what we know and don’t know
The One Big Beautiful Bill, signed into law last year, will require many Ohio residents with Medicaid to prove that they work or volunteer. But advocates still have a lot of questions about how it will work.
As federal teen pregnancy prevention grants get cut, efforts in Ohio try to keep helping
HHS canceled 53 of 67 grants worth $68 million as Democracy Forward sues, while Ohio nonprofits and DeWine's faith-based office weigh how to fill the gap.
More Ohioans are getting their power shut off as energy costs surge
AEP Ohio's disconnection rate hit 15%, quadruple FirstEnergy's, as the utility's CEO earned $36 million last year while bills climbed 53% since 2021.
Ohio renters need to earn at least $23.82 an hour to afford two-bedroom rental, new report shows
The average Ohio renter earns $19.59 an hour, $4.23 short, while the state faces a shortage of 266,000 affordable rental units.
Citing a hunger ‘crisis,’ US mayors call for end to federal SNAP cuts
Lima, Ohio's mayor joined 210 others urging Congress to delay new SNAP rules projected to cost states over $9 billion starting fall 2027.
Food assistance advocates ask Congress to delay GOP megabill shift of SNAP costs to states
Advocates say 4.5 million people, including 1.5 million children, have already lost SNAP benefits, with states like Alabama weighing cuts to the program entirely.
Ohio approved $1 million in emergency funds to help 16 children from Vinton County
State officials warn foster care costs of up to $250 per child daily could bankrupt Vinton County, while four family members face 16 felony counts each.
Amid heat wave, energy assistance is available in Ohio
A family of four earning under $57,750 a year can qualify for help with AC repairs, bills or shutoffs through the state's Summer Crisis Program, running through Sept. 30.
