COLUMBUS, Ohio - An estimated 14 percent of Ohioans live in poverty. As part of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, students in the state are learning more about this issue and giving back to their communities.

Claudia Guzman organized this year's events at the University of Dayton. They included guest speakers and students serving meals to those in need, as well as assembling food packages to send to hungry children abroad.

"These events really help show that the people who go hungry, the people who live on the streets, are really our brothers and sisters. We are called to help them and to serve them as brothers and sisters that we are," said Guzman, a graduate assistant for the university's Center for Social Concern.

Seven hundred high schools, colleges, community groups and faith-based groups from cities across the country are participating in National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.

At Oberlin College, students held discussions on the social and policy matters affecting poverty. Alexander Berger, senior advocate liaison with OhioPIRG, Oberlin Chapter, said they viewed documentaries on the issues that really opened up many students' eyes.

"Obesity and poverty and hunger are actually all linked," Berger said "It's an epidemic that's affecting children really strongly, and affecting the country's culture around providing food aid and accepting food aid."

Berger said the campus hunger and homeless campaign efforts will extend past this week's observance. They will include volunteers who help homeless families in the area, and educational opportunities to teach students how to advocate and give back on the local level.

The students involved in Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week are excited to learn more about what is going on in their own community and abroad, Guzman added, and to learn ways to give back.

"They care about these issues and want to help raise awareness, and we want to serve, we want to do something to help end hunger and homelessness. The students are very passionate, and they're very eager to help," Guzman said.

In Ohio, homelessness increased by 7 percent between 2011 and 2012, and the state was recently ranked 10th worst in the nation for food insecurity.




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Groups working to end hunger in Nebraska are reaching out to all parts of the state to train food insecure people to advocate for others facing similar issues.

The advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed's Food Access Community Advocates Cohort educates people over nine months how to build advocacy, community organizing and storytelling skills, so they are better equipped to understand policies affecting the state's most food insecure people.

Megan Hamann, senior community organizer of food and nutrition access for Nebraska Appleseed, said having experienced hunger puts them in a better position to understand and talk about policy issues affecting hungry people in Nebraska.

"They have this lived experience that is really useful, I think, when it comes to making sure that our decision-makers know the impact of the policies they are considering," Hamann explained.

Nebraska Appleseed will start taking applications for new program participants Friday.

Hamann pointed out the number of food insecure people in Nebraska is greater now than it was during the pandemic, when demand at food banks was already high.

"I think with the passage of the recent federal budget reconciliation bill, we are looking forward to a period of time where that need is going to reach new extremes," Hamann projected.

This will be the fourth year of the cohort program. Many past participants have taken leadership roles in their communities and are now leading local efforts to educate others about the best ways to address food insecurity.


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It has been about three weeks since the Rowena Fire in Oregon's Columbia Gorge was put out, and the local food bank remains vital to recovery efforts.

The fire burned 3,600 acres in Wasco County, destroying 56 homes and 100 other structures.

Breen Goodwin, executive director of the Columbia Gorge Food Bank, said they are always prepared to assist during disasters with ready-to-eat emergency food boxes and water. She added many displaced families are living with relatives, in hotels, or camping and remain uncertain about their next steps.

"It is difficult in a community of our size to absorb housing needs for that many families who have lost homes," Goodwin acknowledged. "That next step of the recovery process of truly: 'How are those families being supported with more long term recovery efforts?'"

Breen pointed out the food bank has been serving as a distribution site to hand out supplies from Adventist Health of the Columbia Gorge and other organizations who donated nonfood items, including air purifiers, generators, hygiene supplies and stuffed animals for kids.

One of the biggest challenges, Breen noted, is keeping a supply of drinking water flowing once people start to return home.

"We're able to drop full pallets of water directly into the impacted communities because most of the time the drinking water is no longer safe until enough testing has been done," Breen explained.

The Columbia Gorge Food Bank is one of 21 regional food banks in the Oregon Food Bank Network. Breen emphasized the number of people visiting the food bank rose to about 6,500 per month during the pandemic and has remained at that level. People can visit OregonFoodFinder.org to find pantry locations in their area.

Indiana families are navigating the summer without SUN Bucks, a federal grocery benefit which delivered $120 per child last summer.

Gov. Mike Braun's administration chose not to participate in 2025, citing prior planning gaps.

Mark Lynch, director of advocacy for the Indy Hunger Network, said the funding blackout hit the state hard.

"We really are feeling and seeing the impacts of not having the SUN Bucks program this year," Lynch emphasized. "That $120 per summer for those students that they had last year have created some longer lines at our food pantries."

State leaders said administrative hurdles kept Indiana out of the program. Supporters argued skipping SUN Bucks puts pressure on food banks and leaves low-income families with fewer options.

Lynch noted to help bridge the gap, Indiana expanded its summer meal sites to include prepackaged meals, which do not require daily pickups.

"But there's school starting soon and they're giving their workers some time off for the summer, so that might be ending in the next week or two," Lynch explained. "That's just an example and that happens around the state in rural, suburban, and in city communities."

The Indy Hunger Network and other partners continue to support Hoosiers through tools like the Community Compass app, which shows nearby meal sites and grocery assistance programs.


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