Stivers: USDA action benefitting home-state food banks critically needed

U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH) recently commended action by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to approve the Disaster Household Feeding Program for Ohio.

“Food banks are a lifeline for many families across Ohio; we need to cut any red tape standing in the way of a food bank’s ability to safely distribute food,” Rep. Stivers said in an April 8 statement. “This approval gives families who rely on these meals and individuals working to provide the meals, the confidence that they will have the assistance needed during this pandemic.”

The USDA’s action followed an April 1 request from Rep. Stivers and his fellow Ohio lawmakers urging USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue to approve the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services’ (ODJFS) request to initiate the food distribution plan for the over 1.25 million Ohioans who are relying on local food banks during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Rep. Stivers’ statement.

“Our emergency food system has not seen this kind of demand before,” wrote Rep. Stivers and his colleagues, including U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rob Portman (R-OH), and U.S. Reps. Bob Latta (R-OH), Dave Joyce (R-OH), Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), Mike Turner (R-OH), and Troy Balderson (R-OH), in an April 1 letter sent to Perdue.

“While we appreciate USDA’s proactive issuance of waivers for some nutrition assistance programs and swift adoption of new authority for others,” they wrote, “ODJFS requires more tools and additional flexibilities to meet increasing demand while keeping staff, volunteers and clients safe.”

Under the food distribution plan, Ohio’s food banks, which are seeing increased demand due to an increase in unemployment, will receive needed tools to safely distribute meals, according to the congressman’s statement.