The Columbus Dispatch...
Hunger stalks Ohio families
State has 7 of country’s most-troubled areas, study says
By Catherine Candisky

Friday August 12, 2011 

Families with kids have more difficulty putting food on the table than those without. 

More than 1 in 4 families with children did not have enough money to buy food in the past 12 months, according to a report released yesterday. That compares with about 1 in 6 for childless households. 

Not having enough money for food has been a frequent worry for Ezell Johnson of the North Side since he began looking after his three young grandchildren about a year ago. 

“We get by,” he said. “It’s scary.” 

Johnson, 58, was injured on a construction job about six years ago and has been living on disability assistance. On a recent afternoon, he was among dozens who came to a Columbus park for free melons, peaches and fresh produce at a farmers market hosted by a Clintonville-area food pantry. 

“We’re happy to see something like this out here. It helps.” 

The report found that Ohio ranked 20th in the nation for food hardship and was home to seven of the 100 most troubled metropolitan areas; only California and Florida had more. 

The Youngstown-Warren-Boardman area ranked third in the nation with a third of its households with children responding yes when asked: “Have there been times in the past 12 months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?” 

Following Youngstown were Dayton at 22nd and Columbus at 31st. 

The analysis was released by the Food Research and Action Center, an anti-hunger advocacy group. It was based on telephone interviews by the Gallup Poll organization with more than 1 million adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia between 2008 and 2010. 

Advocates for the poor say hunger continues to be a growing problem, particularly for those with children. 

“If you are lucky enough to have a job, you have seen your wages stagnate. If you are lucky enough to have health insurance, your out-of-pocket expenses are going up,” said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks. 

And the situation is worse for those who lost their jobs and exhausted their unemployment benefits without finding work. 

“People are going to pantries for the first time ever and adults are skipping meals so there is enough food for their kids,” she said. 

The report’s release comes just weeks before a congressional committee will begin negotiating how to reduce the federal deficit. In an effort by anti-hunger advocates to protect food stamps and other tax-funded nutrition programs serving millions of Americans, the study included a breakdown of hunger hardship by congressional district. 

“They can’t look here,” quipped Hamler-Fugitt. “These programs have to be protected... We’re talking about the poorest of the poor at a time when these programs are woefully inadequate to meet rising demand.” 

Nearly 1 in 6 Ohioans received food stamps in May, the most-recent statistics available, while 44 percent of students got free or reduced-price school lunches last year. 

Read it with a link to the report at Columbus Dispatch