Columbus announces more than $3M to support SNAP recipients

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Although a federal judge sided with Columbus and others on Friday by ruling the federal government must continue to pay Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, Mayor Andrew Ginther announced more than $3 million in local support for recipients on Monday. 

Of the funds, $500,000 will go to the Mid-Ohio Food Collective. Ginther said a vote will go to county commissioners on Tuesday to match the award with $500,000 additional funds. 

Additionally, $2 million will be going toward emergency rental assistance, which Ginther said will soon be available to extremely low-income households. It’ll be available through the city’s Resilient Housing Initiative, and those seeking rental assistance can find more information here.

Grants of $125,000 will be awarded to Columbus City Schools to distribute packaged meals and shelf-stable food items to food and families. Another $40,000 will go to the Children’s Hunger Alliance to fund 1,500 meal boxes to families through after-school programs. 

The remainder $30,000 will be given to LifeCare Alliance to provide frozen meals and snack items through a distribution at Columbus Recreation and Parks Mobile Produce Markets.

As another way to get food, Columbus Public Health will launch Point of Distribution centers at the city’s Mobile Produce Markets this week. There will be meals, produce, toiletries and more. The Point of Distribution centers will be open from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the following locations: 

• Thursday, Nov. 6 – Glenwood Recreation Center, 1888 Fairmont Ave.
• Friday, Nov. 7 – Scioto-Southland Recreation Center, 3901 Parsons Ave.
• Monday, Nov. 10 – Linden Recreation Center, 1350 Briarwood Ave.
• Wednesday, Nov. 12 – Far East Recreation Center, 826 Lattimer Dr.

“This pooling of resources cannot replace the $31 million that should be flowing unimpeded to Franklin County SNAP recipients this month,” said Ginther in a release. “But we’re going to do what Columbus does best – stack hands and rise to the occasion to so we may help as many residents as possible stay healthy, safe and stable.”

To offset food costs, Ginther also offered these resources: 

• Columbus Water & Power is pausing utility turnoffs related to non-payment and waiving late payment fees. SNAP recipients can also receive a one-time bill credit of $65 for water and $50 for power and an ongoing 25% discount on monthly utility usage. Apply by clicking here or by calling 614-645-8276.
• COTA is offering a 50% discount on all fixed-rate fares to SNAP recipients who are enrolled in COTA’s digital payment system. Riders can enroll at the COTA Customer Experience Center at 33 N. High St., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday.