Just a Bite

Three Cs, One Mission: Cheese, CSFP & CCL

May is National Older Americans Month, and in this episode of Just a Bite, we highlight an important program helping combat senior hunger in our communities: the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), also known as the “Senior Box.” CSFP is a federal program that provides adults age 60 and older with low incomes a monthly box of nutritious, shelf-stable USDA foods. These boxes include everyday essentials like cereal, pasta, peanut butter, canned goods, cheese, and juice—ingredients that help support health and food security. To see the program in action, we visited Second Harvest Food Bank of Champaign, Clark, and Logan Counties, where participants in a local senior center cooking class turn these simple ingredients into delicious meals. From stories to hands-on cooking, this episode offers a closer look at how food access brings both nourishment and community. Special thanks to Natasha at Second Harvest Food Bank CCL and the seniors who shared their time, experience, and recipe tips. Are you interested in learning more about CSFP or intersted in volunteering to pack these boxes? * Learn more about the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP): https://www.fns.usda.gov/csfp * Find your local foodbank: Foodbanks - Ohio Association of Foodbanks [https://ohiofoodbanks.org/foodbanks/] * Second Harvest Food Bank (Champaign, Clark & Logan Counties): https://www.theshfb.org Thanks for listening to Just a Bite! Be sure to subscribe, share, and join us next time for another bite.

Celebrating National Volunteer Month

April is National Volunteer Month! Volunteers make it possible for our member food banks to serve millions of meals each year. Without our volunteers, the work of our foodbanks would not be possible. In this episode, we sit down with Susan, a dedicated long-term volunteer with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, who shares her experiences, motivations, and the impact of giving back through volunteering. Susan offers a firsthand look at how volunteering strengthens Ohio’s hunger relief network, and communities across Ohio. A special thank you to Susan for sharing her story with us, and to all our volunteers for their continued dedication to serving food insecure Ohioans. References: To learn more about volunteering at your local foodbank, visit ohiofoodbanks.org/how-to-help/. Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review and subscribe to get episodes in your podcast feed as soon as we upload them every month! Want more updates? Follow us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, and take our latest hunger fighting action. Ohio Association of Foodbanks is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization without party affiliation or bias. We are Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger. Our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need.

Behind the Curtain: Ohio Foodbanks Meet Congress

This March, we are doing something a little different for the podcast. We are giving you a peek behind the curtain on what we call our “fly-in” which we do every year. The Ohio Association of Foodbanks, our member foodbanks and hundreds of other foodbanks from across the country fly to DC in the spring to meet with their members of Congress, talk about what we are seeing in our communities, and what solutions we would like to see to alleviate need and support the families we serve.  This year is no different, with Ohio foodbanks flying in almost 20 representatives from 7 foodbanks all across the state to meet with 12 of our 15 members of Congress and 2 U.S. Senators, with support from Feeding America. In this episode, we want share what it's like to spend about 36 hours in DC engaging with your elected officials and representing your organization alongside other Ohioans. We want to thank Julie Chase Morefield at the Second Harvest Foodbank of North Central Ohio, Natalie Canter at the Akron Canton Regional Foodbank, Hallie Carrino-Lee at the Mid Ohio Food Collective and Rachel Rives for sharing more insight about our time in DC.   References:   To learn more about the Second Harvest Foodbank of North Central Ohio, visit their website here [https://www.secondharvestfoodbank.org/].   To learn more about the Akron Canton Regional Foodbank, visit their website here [https://www.akroncantonfoodbank.org/].   To learn more about the Mid Ohio Food Collective, visit their website here. [https://mofc.org/]   To learn more about the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, the innovative ways Ohio foodbanks are meeting the nutritional needs of older Ohioans, and how the Delivering for Rural Seniors Act can help, check out this Ohio Association of Foodbanks report. [https://ohiofoodbanks.org/site/assets/files/3591/csfp_in_action_lookbook_2026_1.pdf]   To learn more about hunger and poverty in your county, check out our UPDATED county fact sheets [https://ohiofoodbanks.org/news/county-fact-sheets/]!  Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review and subscribe to get episodes in your podcast feed as soon as we upload them every other week!        Want more updates? Follow us on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/OhioFoodbanks], X [https://twitter.com/ohiofoodbanks], and LinkedIn, [https://www.linkedin.com/company/ohio-association-of-foodbanks/] and take  our latest hunger-fighting actions [https://ohiofoodbanks.quorum.us/]!             Ohio Association of Foodbanks is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization without party affiliation or bias. We are Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger and our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need.

Stolen at the Checkout, One Year Later

In this episode, we sit down for a second time with Maura, a SNAP recipient from Clark County, Ohio to get an update on her experience of being a victim of SNAP Skimming. If you have not listened to our original episode with Maura, listen to our episode titled ‘Stolen at the Checkout: A SNAP Skimming Story’, which was released in January of 2026. A year after we recorded this episode with Maura in February of 2025, we are sitting down with her again to discuss her experience in the last year with SNAP benefit theft, updates to her SNAP case, how her family adjusted through the longest government shutdown in history, and discuss potential policy changes that can protect SNAP beneficiaries from benefit theft. We are so excited to have Maura back on the podcast, and cannot thank her enough for trusting us with her story. References: Senate Bill 315 | 136th General Assembly | Ohio Senate [https://www.ohiosenate.gov/legislation/136/sb315]  House Bill 163 | 136th General Assembly | Ohio House of Representatives [https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/136/hb163]   Thieves stole $17M in Ohio food stamp benefits. One change could help [https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/politics/2025/12/01/thieves-stole-17m-in-ohio-food-stamp-benefits-one-change-could-help-snap-ebt/87451603007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z119049v119049b00xxxxd11xx65&gca-ft=147&gca-ds=sophi]   Federal Government Shutdown - Ohio Association of Foodbanks [https://ohiofoodbanks.org/federal-government-shutdown/]  Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review and subscribe to get episodes in your podcast feed as soon as we upload them every other week! Want more updates? Follow us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, and take our latest hunger-fighting actions! Ohio Association of Foodbanks is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization without party affiliation or bias. We are Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger and our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need.

Stolen at the Checkout: A SNAP Skimming Story

In this month’s episode, we dive into the crime that has been hitting SNAP recipients heavily: SNAP Skimming. In recent years, hundreds of thousands of SNAP recipients have had their benefits stolen off their Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card through skimming devices that have been placed at retail grocery stores around the country. In this episode, originally recorded in February 2025, we sit down with SNAP Skimming victim, Maura, to uncover the struggles and hardship that she, along with thousands of other SNAP households have experienced because of SNAP benefit theft. Between June 2023 and December 2024, about 30,000 Ohio households have had upwards of $13 million dollars of SNAP benefits stolen. Up until December 2024, SNAP recipients who were skimmed of their benefits were able to apply for reimbursement through their local or state agency. However, Congress did not extend the authorization to replace these stolen benefits in the December 2024 Continuing Resolution (H.R. 10545), leaving households without their benefits and no avenue to receiving reimbursement. SNAP skimming continues to rise throughout the State of Ohio, and the country, putting greater pressure on strained call centers, Ohio’s Legal Aid offices, and Ohio foodbanks, all while eroding consumer trust in the nation’s first line of defense against hunger. Resources: If you are a SNAP participant, please follow these tips to better protect your benefits from theft: - Manage your benefits by downloading the secure ConnectEBT app on your mobile phone or tablet. Through the App’s card lock features, users can enable a feature that requires the user to unlock their EBT prior to making any purchases, including in-state - Create a PIN for your card that is unique and difficult to guess. - Change your PIN monthly, before each scheduled deposit. - Never share your card number or PIN. ODJFS will never ask for these numbers. - Carefully examine point-of-sale card readers before using them to check for skimming devices. - When using your card, cover the keypad with your body or hand to stop others from seeing your PIN. - Notify store staff if you notice anything suspicious with the card reader. To learn more about SNAP, check out our other episodes in the show notes: SNAP Benefits Reaching into our State Correctional Facilities: https://episodes.castos.com/611feec70cdf90-07541105/1637899/c1e-9q31paozpg7s076p8-498m1m2kh83d-ielfts.mp3 Ohioans on SNAP share their stories: https://episodes.castos.com/611feec70cdf90-07541105/1470113/JAB-Ep-41-SNAP-FINAL.mp3 SNAP Outreach: Thoughts from the field: https://episodes.castos.com/611feec70cdf90-07541105/30703/9156ed69-ac52-433c-8604-3221354d5818/JAB-EP-15.mp3 If you need assistance accessing food, Ohio foodbanks are here to help. To find out what foodbank serves your county, please visit ohiofoodbanks.org/foodbanks. To take action against SNAP benefit theft, please contact your member of Congress, especially if you have been a victim of skimming, to share your story and how it has impacted you, your family, and your financial situation. Citations: https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/stolen-benefits [https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/stolen-benefits] https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/10545/text