Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio

Food banks and food pantries play a key role in meeting the nutritional needs of low-income children and families, who have less access to nutritious, affordable foods and are disproportionately impacted by obesity and diet-related disease. Our food bank partners make sure that times of sacrifice don’t also mean sacrificing good health.

Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio will receive support from PHA to implement a comprehensive nutrition ranking system over the next two years. PHA will provide technical assistance to help Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio understand the nutritional quality of its inventory, enhancing food equity for the communities they serve.

As the area’s largest hunger-relief organization, Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio Grows Hope in our community by creating pathways for nutritious food and visions a bright future for all by cultivating a healthy, hunger-free community.

Second Harvest secures and distributes nearly 14 million pounds of food and grocery products annually; and works in partnership with 110 member agencies and 10+ school districts including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, Mobile School pantries, after-school programs, Mobile Produce Pantries and Mobile Pantries.

Prior to the pandemic, Second Harvest served 88,224 unduplicated individuals. Since then, Second Harvest has served as many as 172,000 unduplicated individuals during the height of the pandemic but are now serving 136,000 unduplicated individuals.

With nearly 1 out of 5 people in our region receiving emergency food assistance from one of Second Harvest’s agencies in Crawford, Erie, Huron and Lorain counties, the need for support has never been greater.