Why Ohio? Why Do So Many In Ohio Receive Food Assistance?
Submitted by Irishbobcat on Sun, 10/17/2010 - 7:31am.
Why Ohio? Why Do So Many In Ohio Receive Food Assistance?
Every week last year, 225,700 Ohioans received emergency food assistance from a pantry, soup kitchen or similar service.
A report released today by the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks illustrates the recession's devastating impact on the state.
In all, more than 1.4 million Ohioans received emergency food assistance at least once, and often more frequently, in 2009.
That's a jump of 18 percent from three years ago, the report found.
40 percent of those surveyed in Ohio say they must choose between food and medicine or other health care needs. Thirty-one percent have at least one household member in poor health."
Among the other findings:
* More than a third of those receiving assistance are children.
* 32 percent of households include at least one employed adult.
* Half of those surveyed say they have had to choose between buying food and paying for utilities.
The report is heartbreaking. We need to turn Ohio forward in the way we market the state and go after new blue-green jobs.
Dennis Spisak-
