Times are tough, and getting tougher, according to the latest numbers. Lisa Hamler Fugitt of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks says poverty in Ohio is worse than anytime in recent history. In fact, she says organizations like hers that help serve Ohio's poorest families are seeing a trend that was more common in the 1930's.
"We're now seeing three and four different family units living in one household," says Hamler Fugitt. "We have not witnessed this `Walton Effect' since certainly 1996 with welfare reform, but it really does hearken back tot he days of the Great Depression."
Dayton and Cleveland are the poorest cities in the state where more than a third of citizens live below the poverty level. And there are signs that the problem is worsening. Hamler Fugitt says she's seeing more poverty in cities and counties where the economy has traditionally been stronger. For example, she says poverty is increasing in Delaware and Medina….two areas of the state that have traditionally had stronger local economies.