Portage County’s food pantries and programs are among the first local victims of federal funding cuts, and the state is poised to compound the blow.
Kent Social Services, Ravenna’s Center of Hope and 50 other food pantries and programs in Portage County receive much of their food from the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, which in recent weeks learned the federal government terminated two of its food programs. That translates to 177,550 fewer pounds of food flowing into Portage County food pantries and programs.
Additionally, Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed 2026-2027 budget would reduce funding for two more programs that together provide almost a quarter of the foodbank’s stockpile available for distribution. The $7.5 million annual cut would translate to poundage: the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank would face another loss of 1.5 million pounds of food each year.
The food bank’s eight-county service area includes Carroll, Holmes, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas and Wayne counties. In 2024, the food bank distributed 40 million pounds across the eight counties, all of which differ in population and need. The largest distribution of 15.3 million pounds went to Summit’s 284 programs; the smallest distribution of 748,000 pounds went to Carroll’s 16 programs.
Portage County’s 26 food pantries, five older adult programs, eight youth and backpack programs, seven meal sites and shelters, and six other non-emergency food programs received almost 1.9 million pounds of food.
All of the counties, including Portage, may have additional pantries and programs that are not associated with the regional food bank. Those entities rely on private donations.
Combining federal and possible state cuts, Foodbank Marketing and Public Relations Director Raven Gayheart said the organization is looking at a total loss of two to three million pounds of food: about 7% of its total distribution. The impacts will begin to be felt in a few weeks, when Gayheart said food bank staff will see empty shelves in its warehouse.
The food bank’s leadership isn’t giving up. They are hopeful that additional funding the USDA recently announced via a social media post will restore half the funding cut from one of the two terminated federal programs. How that will impact the foodbank, the types of food items and the volume of food it receives remains undetermined.
Gayheart noted that the food bank has not received formal notice that any of the programs were terminated or that the USDA funding will be forthcoming. All notices have been via government social media accounts or other food bank information networks.
“We’re going to do everything we can. We’re going to continue to serve our hunger relief partners and to serve community members struggling with food insecurity, but the reality is that people are going to receive less food,” Gayheart said.
She encourages people to call their state and federal legislators to encourage them to reinstate the lost funding.
“We’re just asking people to flood the [governor’s] office with calls and ask him to reinstate the cuts,” Gayheart said. Federal legislators must also be reminded of how the shuttered federal programs will affect their constituents.
LaJoyce Harris, program manager at Ravenna’s Center of Hope food pantry, is already considering rationing the amount of food each client receives just to make sure everybody gets something. She does not know if the center’s allotment of nonperishable items will be cut. If it is, clients’ needs may go unmet, she said.
“We don’t want to have to cut the groceries. We pride ourselves in making sure they have everything they need and, if we have to start cutting, that’s going to hit some of the larger families,” she said.
Ever-optimistic, Harris predicts that faith-based communities will mobilize. She noted that Portage County has a history of taking care of its own.
“I know our community is going to step in and come together to make sure that our neighbors are eating,” she said.
Marquice Seward, program manager at Kent Social Services, said 70% of the pantry’s food comes from the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.
She places her bi-monthly orders carefully, mindful of money, the 3,500-pound weight limit (all the food bank trucks can safely handle) and knowing she is limited to what the food bank has on any given day. Produce, when it is available, is free, but adds weight to any shipment.
“Say we need meat and they have the meat available. If I order 15 cases, that will leave me another 700 pounds available. I’ve got other things I need to order, so I need to be careful,” she said.
Knowing that food purchased from the food bank is usually cheaper than what can be bought at grocery stores, Seward said she will continue to rely on the food bank as much as possible. She’s let KSS’ clients know that certain items may not be available.
“We’ve explained to them that times are hard right now, so we got to kind of appreciate what we get,” she said.
Kent Social Services currently provides pantry items to 434 people in 223 households. Children under the age of 18 make up 21%, 60% are between 18 and 59, and 19% are seniors aged 60 or older.
The Center of Hope provides pantry items to 611 people in 258 households each month. Twenty-three percent are under the age of 18, 52% are between 18 and 59, and 25% are seniors aged 60 or older.
Both program managers say some of their clients work but still have trouble making ends meet. Some receive SNAP and/or WIC benefits; others don’t.
“We have many clients that may have jobs but they still qualify for our services,” Harris said. “And some people have a lot of barriers why they can’t work. Some people have lost their jobs, some have run into a transportation barrier, and, sometimes, childcare can be an issue, as well.”
To meet the needs of working folks, Harris opens Center of Hope’s pantry twice a month for evening pickups.
Thinking of the federal cuts already enacted and the possible state cuts ahead, she wondered if the Center of Hope will even be able to get meat, nonperishables and produce.
“Our neighbors need fresh fruit and vegetables in their pantries. That’s a lot of pounds of food to get cut,” she said.
The 2025 Hunger Challenge
Harris and Seward encourage the people of Kent and Ravenna to participate in the Hunger Challenge like they’ve never done before, bringing nonperishable food and monetary gifts to their respective food pantries.
Sponsored by Family and Community Services, the 2025 Hunger Challenge will continue all month. Last year, contributions to the Center of Hope totaled $32,202.59 and 9,522 food items were donated. Kent Social Services raised $17,147.25 and collected 11,200 food items.
Residents can donate monetary gifts, canned goods, boxed meals, cereals, rice, peanut butter, jelly and more.
Both pantries are open and accepting donations weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kent Social Services is located at 1066 S. Water St.; the Center of Hope is located at 1081 W. Main St., Ravenna. Check donations may also be mailed to Family and Community Services, 705 Oakwood St., Ravenna, 44266, with “Hunger Challenge” written on the memo line.
Donation boxes will also be located at the Ravenna and Kent police departments. A special collection event is scheduled for Saturday, April 26, when both pantries will be accepting donations from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“We both win, and this year is extremely important with the challenges we are facing and the food being cut. We all like a good competition, but this is serious, especially this time, with the cuts,” Harris said.
Wendy DiAlesandro is a former Record Publishing Co. reporter and contributing writer for The Portager.