Just a Bite

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Hunger Action Month: New Data, Real Stories Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

September is Hunger Action Month, a time to raise awareness and inspire action to end hunger in America. In this episode of Just a Bite, host Eliza Richardson is joined by Audrey Vanzant, director of communications at the Ohio Association of Foodbanks and project manager for the 2026 Hunger Study.

Together, they discuss findings from the latest statewide survey of Ohio food pantry visitors and share what more than 2,600 neighbors told us about the realities of putting food on the table today. They explore the difficult tradeoffs many households face, the connection between food insecurity and health, the role of public benefit programs, and the importance of listening directly to people with lived experience.

The episode also features stories from neighbors across Ohio, including Charmaine and Joanne, whose experiences illustrate the challenges behind the data and the resilience of Ohio families.

Resources
Read the full Hunger Study 2026 Report at ohiofoodbanks.org/HungerStudy
Learn more about Hunger Action Month here!

About Just a Bite
Just a Bite is a podcast from the Ohio Association of Foodbanks exploring issues related to food and nutrition security in Ohio. Through conversations with experts, practitioners, advocates, and community leaders, we aim to provide listeners with timely information and actionable insights.

Connect With Us
Website: OhioFoodbanks.org and our podcast website
Newsletter/Advocacy Action Alerts: https://ohiofoodbanks.quorum.us/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OhioFoodbanks
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ohio-association-of-foodbanks/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ohiofoodbanks/

Take Action
After listening to this episode, consider:

Sharing this show with a friend, family member, or neighbor
Connecting with your local foodbank or pantry
Signing up for updates from the Ohio Association of Foodbanks
Participating in an upcoming event or advocacy opportunity
Learning more at OhioFoodbanks.org

Subscribe & Share
If you enjoyed this show, consider subscribing to our podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts! Leave a review and share it with your network to help others learn more about issues related to food and nutrition security in Ohio and across the country.

More Than a Summer of Service Aug 17, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Just a Bite, host Sarah Kuhns speaks with Maureen Allen, director of community service at the Ohio Association of Foodbanks about the new Healthy Harvest Corp program operating in the hunger relief network in Ohio. Next, Sarah interviews Tinu Daboiku, Healthy Harvest Corp volunteer at the Foodbank Inc, about his service through this program over the summer. Together, they discuss what the Healthy Harvest Corps is, what their service projects consist of, and why they decided to serve their community in this way.

Whether you're at an organization that is interested in being a host site, someone who is interested in serving your community, or simply interested in learning more about AmeriCorps, especially the new Healthy Harvest Corps program, this conversation offers valuable insights and practical information.

Thank you to ServeOhio, Ohio's commission on service and volunteerism, for their support of this program.

Resources Mentioned
Look at all AmeriCorps positions across the country here.
Look at open AmeriCorps positions through the Ohio hunger relief network here.

About Our Guest
Tinu Daboiku is a Healthy Harvest Corps volunteer at the Foodbank, Inc, in Dayton, Ohio. He also runs a business called Glorified Dirt, LLC, “providing communities with sustainable solutions and creating healthier soil for more robust food systems and a sustainable future. You can learn more here.

Connect With Us
Website: OhioFoodbanks.org / https://just-a-bite.castos.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OhioFoodbanks
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ohio-association-of-foodbanks/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ohiofoodbanks/

Take Action
After listening to this episode, consider:
Applying for or learning more about AmeriCorps
Sharing this resource with a friend, family member, or client
Contacting your local foodbank or pantry
Signing up for updates from the Ohio Association of Foodbanks
Participating in an upcoming event or advocacy opportunity
Learning more at Ohiofoodbanks.org

Subscribe & Share
If you enjoyed this show, consider subscribing to our podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts! Leave a review, and share it with your network to help others learn more about issues related to food and nutrition security in Ohio and across the country.

Just a Bite...of Summer! Jul 07, 2026

Show notes

In this episode of Just a Bite, host Hope Lane-Gavin, OAF’s Director of Nutrition Policy and Programs speaks internally with Ohio Association of Foodbanks staff members: starting with Carrie Harshbarger, OAF’s Senior Director of Food Supply Chain, then to Grace Wagner, our Director of Health Initiatives and finally to Gregory Pruden, our long-time IT consultant.
Together, they have some fun highlighting the importance of the local food supply chain by overviewing Ohio’s vast summer farmers market network.

Whether you're a member of a local food policy council, a farmer’s market aficionado, or simply interested in learning more about the local food supply chain, this conversation offers valuable insights and practical information in addition to new voices from the Ohio Association of Foodbanks!

Resources

Find a farmers market near you here.

Learn more about farmers markets in Ohio through the Ohio Farmers Market Network here.

Learn more about doubling your SNAP dollars through Produce Perks.

Learn more about the co-ops and farm stores Carrie mentioned during her segment, the Winchester Farm Exchange and the Beechwold Farm Market.

About Just a Bite

Just a Bite is a podcast from the Ohio Association of Foodbanks exploring issues related to food and nutrition security in Ohio. Through conversations with experts, practitioners, advocates, and community leaders, we aim to provide listeners with timely information and actionable insights.

Connect With Us

Website: OhioFoodbanks.org and our podcast website

Newsletter/Advocacy Action Alerts: https://ohiofoodbanks.quorum.us/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OhioFoodbanks
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ohio-association-of-foodbanks/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ohiofoodbanks/

Take Action
After listening to this episode, consider:

Checking out your local farmer’s market or co-op
Sharing this show with a friend, family member, or neighbor
Connecting with your local foodbank or pantry
Signing up for updates from the Ohio Association of Foodbanks
Participating in an upcoming event or advocacy opportunity
Learning more at OhioFoodbanks.org

Subscribe & Share

If you enjoyed this show, consider subscribing to our podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts! Leave a review and share it with your network to help others learn more about issues related to food and nutrition security in Ohio and across the country.

Where Families Can Turn During the Summer: Summer Meals and Summer EBT Jun 10, 2026

Show notes

Summer is here in Ohio! While many families look forward to taking a break from school, and spending more time together outdoors, summer for many Ohio families means less food to feed their children. In Ohio, thousands of children depend on the meals they receive from the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) to keep them fed and nourished throughout the school day. However, when these meals disappear during the summertime, families with children struggle to fill this gap and put enough food on the table throughout the summer months.

In this episode, we sit down with Shannon Amos, Vice President of Programs at the Children’s Hunger Alliance (CHA) to discuss the resources available to families who may be experiencing this gap in meals. Resources such as Summer Meal Sites, and Summer EBT/SUN Bucks can help to support families with children during the summertime.

References:

To find a summer meal site nearest you, visit: https://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Student-Supports/Food-and-Nutrition/Summer-Food-Service-Program.

To learn more about the summer feeding resources that are available to families, visit: https://childrenshungeralliance.org/SUMMER/

To find out if you are eligible for Summer EBT/SUN Bucks, or to fill out an application, visit: https://sebt.ohio.gov/apply/

For outreach materials that can help to educate families about the resources available to them this summer, visit: https://ohiosummerebt.org/outreach-materials/

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review and subscribe to get episodes in your podcast feed as soon as we upload them every month!

Want more updates? Follow us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, and take our latest hunger fighting action.

Ohio Association of Foodbanks is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization without party affiliation or bias. We are Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger. Our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need.

For more information, visit us at ohiofoodbanks.org.

Three Cs, One Mission: Cheese, CSFP & CCL May 07, 2026

Show notes

May is National Older Americans Month, and in this episode of Just a Bite, we highlight an important program helping combat senior hunger in our communities: the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), also known as the “Senior Box.”

CSFP is a federal program that provides adults age 60 and older with low incomes a monthly box of nutritious, shelf-stable USDA foods. These boxes include everyday essentials like cereal, pasta, peanut butter, canned goods, cheese, and juice—ingredients that help support health and food security.

To see the program in action, we visited Second Harvest Food Bank of Champaign, Clark, and Logan Counties, where participants in a local senior center cooking class turn these simple ingredients into delicious meals. From stories to hands-on cooking, this episode offers a closer look at how food access brings both nourishment and community.

Special thanks to Natasha at Second Harvest Food Bank CCL and the seniors who shared their time, experience, and recipe tips. Are you interested in learning more about CSFP or intersted in volunteering to pack these boxes?

Learn more about the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP):
https://www.fns.usda.gov/csfp
Find your local foodbank:
Foodbanks - Ohio Association of Foodbanks
Second Harvest Food Bank (Champaign, Clark & Logan Counties):
https://www.theshfb.org

Thanks for listening to Just a Bite!
Be sure to subscribe, share, and join us next time for another bite.

Celebrating National Volunteer Month Apr 23, 2026

Show notes

April is National Volunteer Month! Volunteers make it possible for our member food banks to serve millions of meals each year. Without our volunteers, the work of our foodbanks would not be possible. In this episode, we sit down with Susan, a dedicated long-term volunteer with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, who shares her experiences, motivations, and the impact of giving back through volunteering. Susan offers a firsthand look at how volunteering strengthens Ohio’s hunger relief network, and communities across Ohio.

A special thank you to Susan for sharing her story with us, and to all our volunteers for their continued dedication to serving food insecure Ohioans.

References:
To learn more about volunteering at your local foodbank, visit ohiofoodbanks.org/how-to-help/.

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review and subscribe to get episodes in your podcast feed as soon as we upload them every month! Want more updates? Follow us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, and take our latest hunger fighting action.

Behind the Curtain: Ohio Foodbanks Meet Congress Mar 27, 2026

Show notes

This March, we are doing something a little different for the podcast. We are giving you a peek behind the curtain on what we call our “fly-in” which we do every year. The Ohio Association of Foodbanks, our member foodbanks and hundreds of other foodbanks from across the country fly to DC in the spring to meet with their members of Congress, talk about what we are seeing in our communities, and what solutions we would like to see to alleviate need and support the families we serve.

This year is no different, with Ohio foodbanks flying in almost 20 representatives from 7 foodbanks all across the state to meet with 12 of our 15 members of Congress and 2 U.S. Senators, with support from Feeding America. In this episode, we want share what it's like to spend about 36 hours in DC engaging with your elected officials and representing your organization alongside other Ohioans. We want to thank Julie Chase Morefield at the Second Harvest Foodbank of North Central Ohio, Natalie Canter at the Akron Canton Regional Foodbank, Hallie Carrino-Lee at the Mid Ohio Food Collective and Rachel Rives for sharing more insight about our time in DC.

References:

To learn more about the Second Harvest Foodbank of North Central Ohio, visit their website here.

To learn more about the Akron Canton Regional Foodbank, visit their website here.

To learn more about the Mid Ohio Food Collective, visit their website here.

To learn more about the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, the innovative ways Ohio foodbanks are meeting the nutritional needs of older Ohioans, and how the Delivering for Rural Seniors Act can help, check out this Ohio Association of Foodbanks report.

To learn more about hunger and poverty in your county, check out our UPDATED county fact sheets!

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review and subscribe to get episodes in your podcast feed as soon as we upload them every other week!      

Want more updates? Follow us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, and take  our latest hunger-fighting actions!     

Ohio Association of Foodbanks is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization without party affiliation or bias. We are Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger and our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need.  

Stolen at the Checkout, One Year Later Feb 19, 2026

Show notes

In this episode, we sit down for a second time with Maura, a SNAP recipient from Clark County, Ohio to get an update on her experience of being a victim of SNAP Skimming. If you have not listened to our original episode with Maura, listen to our episode titled ‘Stolen at the Checkout: A SNAP Skimming Story’, which was released in January of 2026. A year after we recorded this episode with Maura in February of 2025, we are sitting down with her again to discuss her experience in the last year with SNAP benefit theft, updates to her SNAP case, how her family adjusted through the longest government shutdown in history, and discuss potential policy changes that can protect SNAP beneficiaries from benefit theft. We are so excited to have Maura back on the podcast, and cannot thank her enough for trusting us with her story.

References:

Senate Bill 315 | 136th General Assembly | Ohio Senate

House Bill 163 | 136th General Assembly | Ohio House of Representatives

Thieves stole $17M in Ohio food stamp benefits. One change could help

Federal Government Shutdown - Ohio Association of Foodbanks

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review and subscribe to get episodes in your podcast feed as soon as we upload them every other week!

Want more updates? Follow us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, and take our latest hunger-fighting actions!

Ohio Association of Foodbanks is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization without party affiliation or bias. We are Ohio’s largest charitable response to hunger and our mission is to assist Ohio’s 12 Feeding America foodbanks in providing food and other resources to people in need and to pursue areas of common interest for the benefit of people in need.

Stolen at the Checkout: A SNAP Skimming Story Jan 27, 2026

Show notes

In this month’s episode, we dive into the crime that has been hitting SNAP recipients heavily: SNAP Skimming. In recent years, hundreds of thousands of SNAP recipients have had their benefits stolen off their Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card through skimming devices that have been placed at retail grocery stores around the country. In this episode, originally recorded in February 2025, we sit down with SNAP Skimming victim, Maura, to uncover the struggles and hardship that she, along with thousands of other SNAP households have experienced because of SNAP benefit theft. Between June 2023 and December 2024, about 30,000 Ohio households have had upwards of $13 million dollars of SNAP benefits stolen. Up until December 2024, SNAP recipients who were skimmed of their benefits were able to apply for reimbursement through their local or state agency. However, Congress did not extend the authorization to replace these stolen benefits in the December 2024 Continuing Resolution (H.R. 10545), leaving households without their benefits and no avenue to receiving reimbursement. SNAP skimming continues to rise throughout the State of Ohio, and the country, putting greater pressure on strained call centers, Ohio’s Legal Aid offices, and Ohio foodbanks, all while eroding consumer trust in the nation’s first line of defense against hunger.

Resources:

If you are a SNAP participant, please follow these tips to better protect your benefits from theft:

- Manage your benefits by downloading the secure ConnectEBT app on your mobile phone or tablet. Through the App’s card lock features, users can enable a feature that requires the user to unlock their EBT prior to making any purchases, including in-state

- Create a PIN for your card that is unique and difficult to guess.

- Change your PIN monthly, before each scheduled deposit.

- Never share your card number or PIN. ODJFS will never ask for these numbers.

- Carefully examine point-of-sale card readers before using them to check for skimming devices.

- When using your card, cover the keypad with your body or hand to stop others from seeing your PIN.

- Notify store staff if you notice anything suspicious with the card reader.

To learn more about SNAP, check out our other episodes in the show notes:

SNAP Benefits Reaching into our State Correctional Facilities: https://episodes.castos.com/611feec70cdf90-07541105/1637899/c1e-9q31paozpg7s076p8-498m1m2kh83d-ielfts.mp3 Ohioans on SNAP share their stories: https://episodes.castos.com/611feec70cdf90-07541105/1470113/JAB-Ep-41-SNAP-FINAL.mp3 SNAP Outreach: Thoughts from the field: https://episodes.castos.com/611feec70cdf90-07541105/30703/9156ed69-ac52-433c-8604-3221354d5818/JAB-EP-15.mp3

If you need assistance accessing food, Ohio foodbanks are here to help. To find out what foodbank serves your county, please visit ohiofoodbanks.org/foodbanks.

To take action against SNAP benefit theft, please contact your member of Congress, especially if you have been a victim of skimming, to share your story and how it has impacted you, your family, and your financial situation.

Citations:

https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/stolen-benefits

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/10545/text

Sunsetting SNAP-Ed – What’s Next Dec 15, 2025

Show notes

On July 4th, 2025, President Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also known as HR1, which changed many aspects of nutrition programming in the United States. Among the multitude of provisions included in HR1 was the effective termination of all required funding for SNAP-Ed past September 30th, 2025. SNAP-Ed, which stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education, was a federally funded program that supported nutrition education and policy, systems, and environment changes in low-income communities. The removal of funding for SNAP-Ed will significantly impact low-income communities across the country and only widen healthcare disparities through the removal of vital nutrition education.

We sat down with former SNAP-Ed staff members, Ana Claudia Zubieta, Pat Bebo, Mona Lisa Hoffman, and Marsha McCormick to hear about the incredible work SNAP-Ed has done throughout Ohio communities over the past 3 decades, and what the removal of funding for this program means for vulnerable Ohioans.

References:

For more information on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, visit https://benefits.ohio.gov/home/resources/assistance-programs/01-snap.

Applying for SNAP is often a long and confusing process. But our network of application assisters are here to help! Visit www.ohiofoodbanks.org/get-help/apply-for-snap/ to get in contact with an application assister near you!

You can find recipes from Celebrate Your Plate by visiting www.celebrateyourplate.org/.

You can also find us on Instagram @celebrateyourplate, or by visiting https://www.instagram.com/celebrateyourplate/ , and on Pinterest @celebrateyourplate, or by visiting www.pinterest.com/celebrateyourplate/.

For more information regarding the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, visit fcs.osu.edu/programs/nutrition/efnep. Visit today to find out if you are eligible, and where to find your nearest nutrition education program!

You are likely eligible for WIC if you are a pregnant or breastfeeding woman; a woman who recently had a baby; are the parent of an infant’s birth through 12 months, or the parent of a child age 1 to 5 years; who are:

Determined by health professionals to be at medical/nutritional risk.
Meets income guidelines - 185% of Federal Poverty Income Guidelines.

Visit https://odh.ohio.gov/know-our-programs/women-infants-children for more information, and to find out if you are eligible!

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave a review and subscribe to get episodes in your podcast feed as soon as we upload them every other week!      

Want more updates? Follow us on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn, and take  our latest hunger-fighting actions!     

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