The Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbank's Programs

Brief History and Purpose of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks

The Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks (OASHF) is Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger. The mission of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks is to assist Second Harvest Foodbanks in Ohio in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need.

Ohio Foodbanks began in 1985 to develop the federally funded Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) within the state of Ohio. Working in conjunction with the Department of Education and then the Ohio Department of Agriculture and finally with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services the Ohio Foodbanks struggled through many years of programmatic development, burdensome federal bureaucratic processes, repeated threats of cuts to the TEFAP food sources, and the constant recognition that even in the best of times, the food was generally in insufficient amounts to meet the growing needs of the hungry people in Ohio.

Ohio Foodbanks work collaboratively, growing from a loose knit coalition to a cohesive working group seasoned in the procurement, storage, sharing, and distribution of millions of pounds of food, and managing hundreds of paid and volunteer employees. In 1991 the group incorporated as the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization The Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks (OASHF).

Throughout these years, our close work with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has been replicated in other USDA regions.

1997 marked the first year in which OASHF collected dues rests members in order to conduct Association business and was approved to receive first public funding of $105,000 from the State of Ohio to support the storage and distribution costs related to the Ohio Food Purchase Program.

During 1996 OASHF, in close collaboration with the Ohio Food Policy and Anti-Poverty Action Center, worked in the waning moments of the development of the FY98/99 Ohio biennial budget to secure passage of legislation, which would appropriate $3 million for the purchase of 4.5 million pounds of nutritious food products. This successful effort was difficult because Ohio’s budget had moved into the final round of negotiations.

The success of that work laid the foundation for securing continued support what is now called the Ohio Food Program and the initiation of the Ohio Agricultural Clearance Program today. These programs are designed to provide nutritionally adequate shelf stable emergency food supplies to families making the transition from welfare to work and for people who find themselves without sufficient resources to feed themselves and their families.

Ohio Agricultural Clearance Program

The Ohio Agricultural Clearance Program (OACP) is an innovative collective effort of the Ohio General Assembly, the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks, member foodbanks, the agricultural community and local food processors. It builds relationships between Ohio’s farm commodity producers, processors, foodbanks, and emergency food providers. It is a collaborative effort with the primary goal of providing fresh produce and processed food products to clients while improving the capacity of member agencies to feed hungry individuals. As a market-clearing initiative, it does not impact the profits of the farm community, but helps both farmers and foodbanks to make use of surplus commodities. Benefits of the program include preventing waste, providing nutritious commodities for foodbanks, and reducing losses for farmers and growers.

OACP was developed through the hard work of the OACP Advisory Committee, including representatives from OASHF, the farm community, commodity groups, Second Harvest Foodbanks in Ohio, hunger relief organizations, governmental programs, and The Ohio State University. Initial legislative efforts netted $1 million to develop this hunger-fighting effort over a two-year period. The Alliance officially began in October of 1999, and despite drought conditions, distributed apples, potatoes, tomatoes, and other fresh produce to foodbanks, food pantries, and soup kitchens across the state.

In State Fiscal Year 2008, the 3 million provided by the Ohio General Assembly allowed OACP to purchse over 16 million pounds of fresh produce and agriculture commodities were distributed to hungry Ohioans through this program. However, the real success of OACP can be seen in the excitement of foodbankers when they receive great produce, and in the satisfaction of clients who receive quality, nutritious products. Read the full report.

Ohio Food Program

In State Fiscal Year 2008, the $3.659 million provided by the Ohio General Assembly allowed the OFP to purchase and distribute 6 million pounds of shelf-stable food to low-income children and adults throughout Ohio’s 88 counties to over 3,000 member agencies. This represented over 32.3 million meals that were provided to over 2 million households. OFP has further served to facilitate cooperation and combine the efforts of the 12 regional America’s Second Harvest Foodbanks in the state of Ohio.

The purpose of OFP is to make nutritious shelf stable products available to foodbanks to complement other products acquired through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), donations, and Ohio’s Second Harvest foodbank network. The program began in State Fiscal Year 1998/1999 with a $1.5 million allocation from the Ohio General Assembly. Today, the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS) serves as the contract manager of the program. Through cooperation of ODJFS with OASHF, member foodbanks, and food manufacturers, OFP feeds millions of hungry Ohioans.

OFP has become a dynamic resource for the emergency food system in Ohio. In conjunction with OACP it successfully supplements food resources and provides quality products for low-income Ohioans. The Ohio Food Program continues works on improving future services. Read the full report

The Benefit Bank

The Ohio Benefit Bank is a web-enabled, counselor-assisted program being implemented by The Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks and used by faith-based and community groups and public agencies at sites across Ohio, in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.  Benefit Bank sites allow low and moderate-income Ohioans to file electronically their federal and state income tax returns, while simultaneously finding out their eligibility, and completing applications, for tax credits and benefits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, food stamps, child care subsidies, home energy assistance and children’s health care insurance. Read the Ohio University Study released January 2009