COLUMBUS, Ohio — Sept. 10 is Hunger Action Day, a time to raise awareness on the prevalence of food insecurity in communities across the state.

What You Need To Know

  • September is Hunger Action Month, and Sept. 10 is Hunger Action Day

  • The Mid-Ohio Food Collective is working to expand their operation in Central Ohio to adapt to the recent population growth

  • Mid-Ohio Food Collective CEO, Matt Habash, says they are feeding 30% more people than they did at the peak of COVID

Spectrum News 1 visited the Mid-Ohio Food Collective to learn a little bit more about the importance of this day in central Ohio.

“This is a space where people who need help can come together with people who can give help," said Matt Habash, the CEO of the Mid-Ohio Food Collective. "So you can give and get help coming together. It's really a unifying opportunity for communities to come together and address one of the most basic needs: food."

For the past 40 years, Matt Habash has been the CEO of the Mid-Ohio Food Collective. He knows how vital their services are in every neighborhood across central Ohio, especially because of the area’s recent exponential growth. 

“We're feeding 30% more people than we did at the peak of COVID because of all the other challenges, whether it's house payments, car payments, insurance payments, daycare payments, all those things are eating up people's disposable income, and yet they're coming to get food,” Habash said. 

Tuesday morning, Habash hosted a breakfast with donors and volunteers to discuss the future of their food bank and how they can grow their operation. Elizabeth Boyuk attended the breakfast as a representative for Fifth Third Bank, one of the Foodbank’s partners. She said she is proud to be part of an organization that cares about not just food but nutrition as well. 

“You wish it could end, but the need is still there," she said. "And what I really learned today was the great work that they're doing with produce and making sure that communities have access to fresh produce."

Stephanie Lorenz also attended the breakfast. She has had a passion for helping the hungry ever since she was a little girl and was happy to hear about the food bank’s mission to provide fresh produce to those who are food insecure. 

“I grew up where we had a garden, and being able to give those that do not have that ability is very important," she said. "And like Matt Hamish and the team at Mid-Ohio feel collective shares that Hunger knows no neighborhood."

Serving 20 counties across central Ohio covering nearly 10,000 square miles, the Mid-Ohio Food Collective is putting the action in Hunger Action Day.

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