Ohio Increased Food Benefits $1.4B During Pandemic

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The state has issued over $1.4 billion in additional food benefits to Ohio families and children since the start of the pandemic.

The benefits were delivered through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, and Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer payments, according to a statement released Monday by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

“By working with our federal partners and using our Ohio Benefits system, we have been able to increase food security during these challenging times,” said Kimberly Henderson, director of the job and family services department.

Since March 2020, the state has issued over $915 million in additional benefits through SNAP mass supplements to ensure households received the maximum amount possible each month. 

The state has also issued in the past year $462 million in Pandemic EBT benefits to children affected by the move to remote and hybrid learning, who normally receive free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program.

Additionally, more than $32 million in SNAP benefits were issued by the state in the past year through the Consolidated Appropriations Act. For a family consisting of a mother and her two children, this boosted the maximum monthly benefit from $535 to $616.

Image via Jeff Kubina / CC BY-SA

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.