Around 11-13% of Hamilton County residents faces food insecurity or lives in a food desert, and a statewide survey released Sept. 7 shows the tradeoffs those families make are getting harder.
The Ohio Association of Foodbanks surveyed 2,644 pantry visitors between April 18 and May 22. Forty-five percent said they chose between paying rent or a mortgage and buying food, CityBeat reported, citing Ohio Capital Journal reporting. Fifty-seven percent chose between utilities and food. For households with children, that figure rose to 65%.
"You still have to put gas in the car to get to work to keep your job," Joree Novotny, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, told the Ohio Capital Journal. "You still have to pay the rent, keep utilities running, but food is a thing you can sacrifice."
Half of surveyed households reported someone skipping a meal in the past year. Among those, 59% said it happened every month.
Local numbers
Feeding America estimates more than 42,000 children in Hamilton County live in food-insecure households, roughly one in six kids, according to Local 12. Freestore Foodbank, which serves Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana, estimates 82,200 children across the region are at risk of hunger each day.
The statewide survey adds context to those figures. Forty-five percent of respondents received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Among them, nearly one in four said benefits lasted a week or less.
More than 100,000 Ohioans, including more than 50,000 children, have lost SNAP benefits since cuts under the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," the Ohio Capital Journal reported.
Seniors hit hard
Among households with seniors, 53% reported visiting a food pantry more than 12 times a year. Seventy-six percent of all surveyed households included someone living with high blood pressure, diabetes or heart disease. More than half of respondents earned less than $20,000 annually.
Freestore Foodbank's 2026 Rubber Duck Regatta sold more than 127,000 ducks, generating enough to help provide 1.9 million meals across the region, according to Local 12. September is Hunger Action Month, a nationwide effort by Feeding America food banks to raise awareness of food insecurity.
