Around 1.4 million Ohioans receive help buying groceries from SNAP, also known as food stamps.
That's about 12% of the state's population benefiting from food assistance, according to the Center for Community Solutions.
This includes 57-year-old Amy Sherlock of Goshen, Ohio. She is currently receiving disability benefits and received SNAP assistance for years when she was raising three children and working over 50 hours a week as a restaurant manager.
"SNAP isn’t handouts to lazy people, it’s supplementing poor wages paid by corporations who are making record profits off the backs of their underpaid employees," Sherlock said.
Sherlock and others receiving food assistance are now at risk of food insecurity as the federal government shutdown turns into the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
The Trump administration is rerouting $4.65 billion to the program. This is nearly half of the typical $8 billion SNAP recipients receive each month.
This decision followed the ruling of two federal judges that freezing payments for the program is unlawful.
"Our resources are already stretched thin"
Sherlock said she is currently recovering from rotator cuff and bicep surgery. Without benefits, she said she would be forced to go to food pantries. But with specific dietary needs, that solution is not a "cure all."
"I am on [tirzepatide] due to elevated fasting insulin; I supplement my meals with Atkins and other meal replacements I will not be able to get any food pantries," she said. "I eat a high protein diet in order to continue my weight loss which has been hard with the cost of meat and eggs."
While food banks across the state are gearing up to serve those in need, their supplies can only go so far.
"As we navigate this shutdown day by day, we continue to communicate with our state agency partners to better understand the impact government-funded assistance programs may face if the shutdown is prolonged," said Executive Director of the Ohio Association of Food Banks, Joree Novotny, in a written statement. "While we stand ready to assist those affected, our resources are already stretched thin, with an average of 1.4 million Ohioans visiting our food pantries each month, and a prolonged shutdown will add strain on our network."
Novotny said that they are counting on donors, supporters and their communities to step up in any way they can to help respond to a growing need.
"The collective generosity of Ohioans in this moment is essential in supporting our mission — not only in this shutdown season, but as we approach the winter months and holiday season ahead," she said.
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services has notified counties across the state about new federal guidance from the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, regarding partial SNAP benefits in November.
The organization said it is working with its vendors to on benefit amounts and when they will be available.
