Low-income families with children across Ohio are receiving a much-needed boost in food assistance this summer, thanks to the continuation of the Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) program. In June 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved two plans by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) and the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) to...
By: Sarah Hudacek, Policy Assistant, Advocates for Ohio’s FutureHope A. Lane Gavin, Health Equity Fellow, The Center for Community Solutions Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a myriad of temporary health and human service programming was created to help stabilize families facing unprecedented illness, job loss and closures. Much of this programming was targeted at low-income working...
On June 13, 2022, the Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS) announced a new contract with Conduent State & Local Solutions, Inc. to manage Ohio’s Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) and Electronic Payment Card (EPC) Systems for the State of Ohio. This is an important development for Ohioans who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or...
The flexibility and expansions that kept many households afloat during the pandemic will end when the federal Public Health Emergency (PHE) expires, perhaps as soon as July, causing a COVID Cliff. Families still fighting to gain stability will face the end of enhanced Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, the redetermination of the full Medicaid...
From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent Public Health Emergency (PHE) it was clear that in order to mitigate the virus’ harm on our public health infrastructure, our economy and life as we knew it, governments, from Congress to City Hall, needed to prioritize strengthening the health and human service safety net. Across...
The United States Department of Agriculture released the Thrifty Food Plan in 1975, as one of four plans that estimate the cost of a healthy diet. The four plans – Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, Liberal, and Thrifty – provide guidelines for the type and amount of food, measured in pounds per week, that an individual should eat with slightly different recommendations dependent on an individual’s age...
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Center for Community Solutions has been carefully monitoring the issue of food security for Ohioans, including nutrition policy on the federal and state level and U.S. Census Pulse data to assess the extent of the problem. Community Solutions has also been tracking grocery shopping innovation and alternatives,...
By: Hope Lane, Public Policy & External Affairs Associate and Emily Campbell, Associate Director and Williamson Family Fellow for Applied Research While emergency allotments in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) were never meant to be a permanent fixture, their extension through the end of the federal public health emergency will ensure all Ohioans have a...
Throughout the pandemic, federal and state government have worked together to ensure that individuals and families impacted by this unprecedented time in history were not plagued by food insecurity. Much of this work involved guaranteeing that those already eligible for benefits had numerous ways to access food, that the benefit was sufficient for a household’s...
