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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

One in Six Ohioans Struggles with Hunger

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Monday, September 11, 2017   

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Struggling Ohioans are starting to see small improvements in their ability to put food on the table.

New data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service show the rate of food insecurity in Ohio fell slightly in 2016 to 14.8 percent. That's down from 16 percent in 2011.

While it's an improvement, Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, says it's still higher than the national food insecurity rate of about 12 percent.

"In this great nation, certainly in this great state, it's unacceptable that we have one in six of our friends and neighbors that suffers the grim reality of not having enough money or resources to feed themselves and their families," she states.

The research comes as Ohio observes Hunger Action Month. Ohioans are encouraged to join the fight against hunger by raising awareness, volunteering, donating time or money and advocating for policies that fight poverty.

Hamler-Fugitt says the progress on hunger highlights how the country's safety net, including programs such as the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), works to help families. And she hopes Congress pauses as it considers the president's fast-track attempts to undercut assistance programs.

"Certainly the natural disasters of Harvey, followed by Irma, have slowed the process of Congress and given some time for reflection on the important role that government plays in providing for its most vulnerable citizens," she states.

President Donald Trump's budget proposal would cut SNAP by $193 billion over a decade, which could cost Ohio more than $4 billion.

A recent report from Policy Matters Ohio found 10 percent of all Ohio workers participate in SNAP, and that every dollar spent on SNAP generates $1.70 in local economic activity.





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