Rep. Jarrells: Ohio Republicans Failed to Act to Help Millions of Ohioans About to Lose SNAP Benefits

COLUMBUS — State Rep. Dontavius L. Jarrells (D-Columbus) today called out Ohio Republicans in the state legislature for failing to act on measures that could have preserved Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for 1.4 million Ohioans. In two days, more than half a million children, more than 250,000 seniors, and an estimated 45,000 veterans are at risk of going hungry when the federal government defaults on its November deposit to fund SNAP benefit cards due to President Trump and Congressional Republicans’ refusal to end the federal government shutdown.

“On the House Floor, I spoke plainly: hunger cannot wait. When leaders choose politics over people, children go to bed hungry, seniors skip meals to afford their prescriptions, and veterans are left without the dignity they earned. We had a chance to act to protect 1.4 million Ohioans from the pain of this shutdown, and the majority chose silence. That silence will echo in every empty stomach across this state,” said Rep. Jarrells.

House Republicans also refused to consider an amendment Rep. Jarrells spoke on the floor in support of, which included provisions to:

• Create a new fund under the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (JFS) to provide emergency funds to Ohio food banks until the federal government shutdown ends or SNAP recipients begin receiving benefits again.
• Appropriate up to $100 million as needed by food banks to meet increased demand during the shutdown, drawing from either the Controlling Board emergency purposes fund or the rainy-day fund.
• Require JFS to work with the Ohio Association of Foodbanks (OAFB) to determine the timeframe for distributing funds as needed.
• Require OAFB to coordinate with Meals on Wheels and other nonprofit food delivery organizations to distribute food to disabled individuals, seniors, and others who lack transportation.

Come Saturday, November 1st, families across Ohio will be forced to choose between buying food, paying for medicine, or keeping the heat on because of the majority’s failure to act in this moment of crisis.