Over 1.39 million Ohioans across 714,475 households are more food secure as a result of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). That’s about 810,000 adults who worried a little less about how they would afford their groceries, and over half a million children who were more likely to be eating the healthy foods they need to grow and thrive. Unfortunately, new analyses from The Urban Institute details how all 1.39 million Ohioans will lose some or all of their SNAP benefits considering the recently passed federal budget reconciliation bill.
One hundred dollars a month adds up fast
The Urban Institute, in a report published earlier this month, quantified the impacts of these new operational and funding changes to SNAP for households in all 50 states. While all households utilizing SNAP would see a reduction in benefits due to the capping of the Thrifty Food Plan (simply meaning that SNAP allotments cannot increase in response to rising food costs), some households would see significant reductions in food assistance. In Ohio, The Urban Institute calculated that approximately 132,000 households would see a monthly reduction in benefits of at least $25. Though for most of those households, the situation would be much worse; on average, those 132,000 households would see a reduction of $96 a month, or $1,152 annually, in food assistance.
Ohio’s densely populated urban centers will have the greatest numbers of affected households
Using The Urban Institutes’ research, as well as the most recent data from ODJFS’ Public Assistance Monthly Statistic Report, a simple analysis was run to develop estimates for Ohio’s 88 counties of the number of households that will see significant reductions in their SNAP benefits. By applying each county’s share of all households in Ohio receiving SNAP, to the total number of households projected to experience significant SNAP benefits reductions, we can estimate how many impacted households live in each county.
As expected, Ohio’s most densely populated counties with urban centers will have the greatest numbers of households experiencing significant reductions in SNAP benefits. Nearly half (47 percent, or 2.25 million) of Ohio’s households live in Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Montgomery, Summit, and Lucas Counties, and subsequently 50 percent of households projected to experience significant reductions in SNAP also reside in these counties.
These changes to SNAP are projected to impact more of Ohio’s southernmost rural communities (and Ashtabula County) the most.
Ohio’s rural southernmost counties will feel even greater pressure with SNAP cuts
When exploring these impacted households as a percentage of each county’s population, a different picture emerges. These changes to SNAP are projected to impact more of Ohio’s southernmost rural communities (and Ashtabula County) the most. Community Solutions has written extensively on the challenges urban and rural residents already face in accessing healthy food, and how SNAP reductions are likely to exacerbate this issue.
Explore the estimate for your county on this interactive map. The darker the county, the greater the share of SNAP households expected to experience a significant reduction in the hunger assistance they receive once the reconciliation polices are fully implemented.
This information should be used by local communities, including food banks, County Job and Family Services Offices, and social service providers to plan for a future where hungry Ohioans have less food on the table as a result of federal cuts.
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