Where Families Can Turn During the Summer: Summer Meals and Summer EBT

Where Families Can Turn During the Summer: Summer Meals and Summer EBT

Summer is here in Ohio! While many families look forward to taking a break from school, and spending more time together outdoors, summer for many Ohio families means less food to feed their children. In Ohio, thousands of children depend on the meals they receive from the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) to keep them fed and nourished throughout the school day. However, when these meals disappear during the summertime, families with children struggle to fill this gap and put enough food on the table throughout the summer months.   In this episode, we sit down with Shannon Amos, Vice President of Programs at the Children’s Hunger Alliance (CHA) to discuss the resources available to families who may be experiencing this gap in meals. Resources such as Summer Meal Sites, and Summer EBT/SUN Bucks can help to support families with children during the summertime.     References:   To find a summer meal site nearest you, visit: https://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Student-Supports/Food-and-Nutrition/Summer-Food-Service-Program [https://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Student-Supports/Food-and-Nutrition/Summer-Food-Service-Program].   To learn more about the summer feeding resources that are available to families, visit: https://childrenshungeralliance.org/SUMMER/ [https://childrenshungeralliance.org/SUMMER/]   To find out if you are eligible for Summer EBT/SUN Bucks, or to fill out an application, visit: https://sebt.ohio.gov/apply/ [https://sebt.ohio.gov/apply/]   For outreach materials that can help to educate families about the resources available to them this summer, visit: https://ohiosummerebt.org/outreach-materials/ [https://ohiosummerebt.org/outreach-materials/]    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 [https://www.facebook.com/OhioFoodbanks/], X [https://x.com/OhioFoodbanks], and LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/ohio-association-of-foodbanks/posts/?feedView=all], and take our latest hunger fighting action. [https://p2a.co/xmzcpmE]   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.   For more information, visit us at ohiofoodbanks.org.

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.