Second Harvest hears feedback, asks for support at second community roundtable

OBERLIN — Second Harvest Food Bank hosted its second community conversation roundtable in the county on Wednesday evening. The event invited service providers and food bank users to give feedback on Second Harvest's programs and hear the food bank's advocacy needs at the state level as the state legislature starts working on Ohio's 2026-27 biennial budget. Kimberly Hazelgrove, Second Harvest advocacy coordinator, led the roundtable discussion hosted by Oberlin Community Services. She said the food bank served more than 25,000 unique families in Lorain County from July 2023 to June 2024, and seniors are the fastest-growing population it serves through either its mobile pantry or partner networks like OCS. She asked attendees what needs they were seeing in the communities they serve, or in their own lives. Some senior food box recipients said they wanted more variety, including fresh produce, in their monthly boxes. It was not the first time Hazelgrove had heard the complaint. She said the senior food box items are federally mandated — meaning a senior citizen receiving a box in Lorain County is getting the same food as someone living on the West Coast. The boxes are meant to be supplemental, she said, but they have heard concerns about dietary restrictions — such as the need for low sodium or low-fat items, or cultural issues. Second Harvest is trying to get funding to purchase additional fresh items to supplement the boxes, CEO Julie Chase-Morefield said. Hazelgrove said another complaint they have hears is the boxes — both for the senior food boxes, and those that families receive at the mobile pantry — are getting lighter. As grocery costs rise for families, so too do the costs for food banks to fill those boxes, Hazelgrove said. "That's simply an economic condition we can't fix right now," she said. Hazelgrove said everyone is getting squeezed, and the food bank is concerned its budget from the state may be next. Chase-Morefield said about a quarter of the food bank's food comes from the state budget, including much of its produce from farms in the Buckeye State. She said that the partnership program with farmers helps provide produce to those coming to the food bank while supplementing income for the state's agricultural businesses. At the state level, Hazelgrove said Second Harvest and the 11 other food banks in the state advocating for funding to remain the same as it did last budget cycle – $100 million over the life of the budget. Nationally, it is working to get a new Farm Bill passed. The prior legislation expired in 2023 and has been continued under an extension. The Farm Bill addresses agricultural and food programs, including SNAP, WIC and senior food boxes. Hazelgrove hoped the fellow nonprofits in attendance Wednesday evening, and those who use the food banks programs would help advocate for continued funding at the state and federal level. For more information on Second Harvest, including upcoming mobile pantries and other distributions, visit secondharvestfoodbank.org. Registration is now available for Second Harvest's Thanksgiving mobile pantry. The pantry is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 23 at Lorain County Community College. It is open to income-eligible households; pre-registration is required with no more than two households to be picked up per vehicle. Income guidelines and more information, including registration, are available on Second Harvest's website. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.