The grant will directly support the food bank’s operational capacity such as logistics, staffing and infrastructure needed to distribute millions of pounds of food.
“With food insecurity rates continuing to rise, especially in marginalized populations, this support comes at a critical time,” said Jennifer Brunner, development director. “Demand unfortunately, remains consistently high ... We feel like we are fighting battles on multiple fronts but continue to work hard to meet the needs of our community.”
They have won Honda grants before and they are part of the normal grant cycle, Brunner said, but this award amount is 50% greater than past grant awards.
“This grant will help us reach more families, more seniors and more children with nutritious food — while also giving us the flexibility to meet the increasing need in our region. Honda is not only investing in our work — they’re investing in the health and dignity of our neighbors," she said.
The collaboration between Honda and Second Harvest shows fighting hunger requires community involvement and corporate leadership, Brunner said.
“(This) reinforces a shared commitment to strengthening communities and ensuring that no family goes without food,” she said. “With support from corporate partners like Honda, the food bank is able to sustain and scale its impact during a time of rising demand and limited resources.”
The food bank serves more than 56,000 people annually and distributes nearly five million pounds of food through 60 non-profit partners such as pantries, mobile markets and school programs.
In March, the food bank lost more than $200,000 of federally funded food via the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) program, which was canceled, along with the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) program after June. Officials previously said the impact was $453,867 in food value lost and 378,222 fewer meals available for families.
Internally, Brunner said they have been focusing on finding funding sources to purchase food. She said with the help of a private donor and some grant awards, they’ll have limited funds to get much-needed shelf stable items this summer.
The new concern is the proposed $295 billion reduction in SNAP benefits over 10 years that would result in 9.5 billion meals lost annually, Brunner said, according to Feeding America data.
For Ohioans, 1.4 million people benefit from SNAP, including 555,000 children and 256,000 seniors.
“Collectively, the 12 Ohio food banks, including Second Harvest Food Bank, distributed 232.2 million meals last year. With the proposed cuts to SNAP, Ohio families could lose 175 million meals (according to Feeding America data). The proposed cuts will put additional strain on our services, which are already spread thin,” she said.
For more information, visit www.theshfb.org.
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