Brown calls for holiday food bank donations

0

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-OH, hosted a news conference call Wednesday to encourage Ohioans to donate to their local food banks, as demand increases during the holiday season, and to discuss why extending the Child Tax Credit expansion will help Ohio parents put food on the table.

According to the census, earlier this year more than 700,000 Ohioans – or 1 out of every 11 Ohio adults — reported being food insecure, and while hunger peaked in December of 2020, demand is still high.

“Today I’m calling on Ohioans to do their part, and donate to their local food bank this holiday season. But food banks can’t do the job alone. They’re not a replacement for money in people’s pockets,” said Brown. “We also need to do our part in Congress, to make sure that Ohio families’ tax cuts continue next year. The Child Tax Credit is the most consequential thing we’ve done to make Ohio parents’ hard work pay off and help them keep up with the cost of raising a family.”

A census survey showed the American Rescue Plan’s expansion of the Child Tax Credit coincided with a drop in the number of households with children who didn’t have enough food, which is why Brown is fighting to extend the expanded CTC to help foodbanks and the Ohioans they serve.

Brown was joined on the call by Kimberly LoVano, director of Advocacy and Public Education for the Great Cleveland Foodbank.

“Last year, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank and our network served more than 343,000 individuals in our six-county service area. And while Northeast Ohio is a very generous community, the reality is that rising food costs and the expiration of federal relief programs have created a new set of challenges for food banks and families alike,” said LoVano. “We are very grateful to Senator Brown for his leadership and longtime advocacy around the expanded Child Tax Credit, which cut child food insecurity by 24% over the summer. As we look ahead, it is critical that Congress prioritizes the Child Tax Credit in the Build Back Better Act. Ohio families are counting on it.”

Find out more about your local foodbank, including how to donate, https://ohiofoodbanks.org/foodbanks/.

No posts to display