CLEVELAND — As summer winds down, many Northeast Ohioans are stretching smaller budgets to cover higher costs. The Greater Cleveland Food Bank is seeing its highest demand for food assistance ever.
February marked the end of extra payments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The pandemic-era emergency allotments had been providing hundreds of additional dollars to low-income families and individuals.
“Oh my gosh, my budget screamed at me this month,” Allison Edens said.
News 5 interviewed her and her husband Ernest the week they received their final emergency allotment of SNAP benefits in early March. They’re now receiving more than $200 less per month and said they’re feeling the difference.
We don’t just report the initial story—we follow through to its conclusion. Read and watch our previous reporting on this story below and see more stories that we've followed through on here.
“I just try to stretch the food out every month, try to make a variety of dinners for us. And it’s rough,” Edens said.
Service providers are also stretched to meet demand for food assistance. The Heights Emergency Food Pantry in Cleveland Heights is serving more families and individuals than it was last year.
“We’re just trying to survive,” Trasheena Perkins said Thursday as she picked up groceries for her family of five.
According to the the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), inflation shrank to 3% in June. It’s the lowest rate since March of 2021. BLS data also showed the price of food meant to be consumed at home increased by 4.7% from the same time in 2022.
Perkins said she no longer qualifies for SNAP benefits and has been feeling the effects of high grocery prices while receiving at least $100 less per month.
“It impacted me a lot. Now I have to spend cash or find cash or ask family members for cash. It’s a very big deal,” she said.
The Greater Cleveland Food Bank, which works with 1,000 partners across six counties, served 96,000 new people over the past year. June was its busiest month ever on record.
“For a senior on a fixed income or for a working family, who was kind of struggling to get by before costs went up, sometimes it’s just too much to bear. And they’re left making really difficult decisions, between food and other basic needs,” said Food Bank CEO and President Kristin Warzocha.
A recent study by the Ohio Association of Food Banks found 68% of Ohioans had to choose between food and transportation, and 66% had to choose between food and utilities. Warzocha worries there’s little relief in sight.
“One thing that keeps me up at night is worrying about the fact that this could get worse. Our community and our nation and folks who are lower income really need strong federal programs, like the SNAP program,” she said.
While the organization pushes for accessible policy, it’s also planning to take its own steps for longterm solutions. This fall, the Food Bank will open a community resource center in its old location, with food assistance, along with wrap around services for housing, jobs and healthcare.
Edens said her and her family also worry about the future and their fixed income keeping up with high costs.
“It’s very difficult,” Edens said.
Watch live and local news any time:
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
