COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Mid-Ohio Food Collective has seen a 40% increase in demand over the last year.
“The need for our services has continued to go up. We are way ahead of anything we saw during the pandemic. As it turns out, May and June have been the busiest two months of the 40 years of our organization's history,” said Mike Hochron, senior vice president of communications at Mid-Ohio Food Collective.
Hochron believes the increase in demand is because families no longer have additional support like extra food stamps that the government gave out during the pandemic.
He also said more families are turning to them because of inflation.
“We see rising costs for housing, energy, food. Families have to make that difference up somewhere and the one part of the family’s budget that has wiggle to it is the food budget."
Hochron said right now a lot of families are in a tough spot. They want to make their lives easier by eliminating the pressure to put food on the table.
“They have to choose between putting food on the table or paying their rent or electric bill,” said Hochron.
But, inflation is also affecting the food bank.
“Our dollars just don’t go as far as they used to. Compared to 2018 produce costs 57 percent more per pound. Shelf stable items like pasta, canned items, and tuna are up 81 percent,” he said.
Hochron said they depend on money from the legislature and donations to provide for people in need. He believes the answer to ending hunger involves everyone.
“It's going to take everyone in our community, companies, individuals and government at all levels to make sure nobody goes hungry."
Find out more about how to volunteer here: https://mofc.org/volunteer/.