LIMA — Food banks throughout Ohio, including the West Ohio Food Bank, are asking Ohio lawmakers to release additional funding to help these organizations meet increased demand.

The Ohio Association of Food Banks is requesting that the state release $50 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to help distribute food to Ohio families in need, a need that has been more keenly felt during the economic downturn.

“There have been over 8,000 new families who have needed food assistance through West Ohio Food Bank’s food distributions and network of partner agencies over the past 11 months,” West Ohio Food Bank CEO Tommie Harner said in a statement. “This comes at a time when our food donations are currently 33% lower than what they were a year ago. The need to purchase additional food to help feed our hungry neighbors is vital.”

“Ohio’s foodbanks are asking for $50 million in immediate, emergency funding to move much-needed food out to food insecure Ohioans and $133 million in a longer-term investment to help us prepare our physical and human infrastructure to face the recession many economists estimate is just around the corner,” said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

More than 200 statewide, regional and local organizations, and nearly 600 individuals, have signed an online petition urging immediate investments in Ohio’s foodbanks and other basic services that Ohioans with low and moderate incomes rely on.

For more information about the food bank, go to https://bit.ly/3xDJYls.