More than 300 Kentucky farmers participated in the state's Farms to Food Banks program last year, and at a recent virtual rally, state officials said they are looking to expand the program to help combat rising food insecurity.

Ryan Quarles, the state's commissioner of agriculture, said continued funding for Farms to Food Banks, along with other measures, will ensure Kentucky households have access to locally grown produce.

"This money is used to buy up produce from Kentucky farmers that would otherwise not be harvested, that would otherwise rot in the field," Quarles explained. "And get it into the hands of our food banks."

In 2021, farmers across 57 counties provided food for more than five million meals through the program. According to Feeding Kentucky, farmers were paid on average around $2,000 to cover the cost of harvesting, packaging and transporting donated agricultural products to a local food bank or pantry.

Quarles also pointed out the state plans to use American Rescue Plan Act funds to help upgrade food pantries.

"We know that our food pantries are not created equally across our state," Quarles acknowledged. "There's at least a thousand of them. And so we want to create a mini grant program with a one-time million-dollar ask, so each food pantry can buy a refrigerator, upgrade shelving, etcetera."

Katrina Thompson, executive director of Feeding Kentucky, said the need for food comes at a time when many Kentuckians, especially those in the western part of the state, continue to seek long-term shelter and other basic necessities in the aftermath of the December tornadoes.

"We've had displaced families who don't have a stove or are living with other family members, living in hotels," Thompson observed. "We're really just working with nonperishable foods right now, getting those out to the food banks and out to the pantries."

A recent census survey found nationwide, nearly 23 million people either "sometimes" or "often" did not have enough to eat. Around 200 million people said their household experienced a loss in income, making it more difficult to purchase food.

Record-high demand has prompted the Ohio Association of Food Banks to request additional funding in the biennial budget to increase the capacity of food-purchasing programs. Last year the state's food banks distributed more than 242 million pounds of food and grocery items to residents in need.

Joree Novotony, chief of staff for the Ohio Association of Food Banks, said the funding increase would help alleviate the strain on families forced to make tough choices. 68% of Food Bank clients reported that in the past two to three months, they've chosen between paying for food, transportation or gas, according to a new report.

"If you can't afford to put gas in your car to get through your shift at work, you're going to lose, you're going to lose wages, might even lose your job, right, so you're going to put the gas in the car. And then when you need to buy groceries the next day, that's where you're going to cut back," Novotony said.

More than 8 in 10 Ohio food bank clients reported seeking help with emergency food because of higher food costs. Ohio's Food Program and Agricultural Clearance Program works to procure Ohio-grown fruits and vegetables, shelf-stable items, protein, dairy and other grocery items to pantries across the state.

Novotony added more than half of food-bank clients reported having to choose between paying for food, health care or medicine within the past two or three months.

"That is not a choice that anyone should make." Novotny continued. "Both of those are critical toward managing that disease and promoting health and well-being."

She added the Ohio Association of Foodbanks and other hunger-relief groups are urging lawmakers to implement a state-funded minimum SNAP benefit for older adults, which would increase monthly SNAP allotments to $50 per month for the state's 70,000, 60 and older households.

A rally was held in Salem Thursday to urge passage of a bill to provide food assistance to Oregonians regardless of their immigration status.

Senate Bill 610, known as Food for All Oregonians, would ensure people who are undocumented and excluded from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program receive food aid in the state.

Morgan Dewey, spokesperson for the Oregon Food Bank, described the event.

"The Capitol was a beautiful backdrop for a series of speakers who shared their personal stories and organizations that are part of the 125+ organization-led coalition supporting Food for All Oregonians," Dewey recounted.

The bill would extend aid to lawful permanent residents, U.S. Compacts of Free Association citizens and other Oregonians who arrived as immigrants or refugees.

Dewey noted more than a million people are expected to access food assistance this year. To help counteract it, the measure would help get aid to about 62,000 Oregonians.

"With food on the table, families can thrive, kids can do better in school, access to education and health care and housing becomes a little less of a worry," Dewey outlined.

The biggest roadblock for the bill's passage is the Senate Republican walkout. Dewey added anti-hunger advocates are urging them to return to Salem.

"We're really calling on folks to come back and do their jobs so that pieces of legislation that will support a thriving Oregon, like SB 610 Food for All Oregonians, can pass and support our neighbors and our communities," Dewey concluded.


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Rural development leaders say getting healthy, locally grown food to underserved areas is a challenge in states like North Dakota.

They hope a new federal initiative that creates regional food business centers will help smaller communities and producers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced the launch of a dozen hubs that will provide technical assistance and capacity building to help farmers, ranchers and other food businesses access new markets.

Lori Capouch is the rural development director for the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives.

She said food access woes had been growing in smaller communities before supply-chain problems became very evident over the past few years.

"Having trouble getting food to grocery stores and schools and restaurants in the very smaller cities," said Capouch. "But the pandemic accelerated that and suddenly we had schools that couldn't get ground beef although we have a ton of producers in our state."

There are other regional partners assisting with the food center, including the North Dakota Farmers Union.

It says a primary focus will involve developing critical infrastructure for small and mid-sized livestock and fruit and vegetable processing, along with storage options.

South Dakota and Minnesota will be part of the regional hub serving north-central states.

Capouch said involving smaller farmers and ranchers within the region should be a "big win" economically speaking.

"Those dollars then stay in our state," said Capouch. "and they benefit the people that live here."

Capouch said the regional food business center will largely operate in virtual fashion, and that over the next several months, they will bring organizations together to hear from producers and stakeholders about what their goals and needs are.




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