Vulnerable Republican Mike Turner’s decisive vote for Big, Ugly Bill slashed critical SNAP funding by 20%, and Ohio families and food banks are already paying the price.
Thanks to Turner’s cruelty, 13,000 Ohioans lost their food assistance in just two months, with food banks warning that “those numbers include eligible families who got tangled in the new bureaucratic tape.” This is in addition to the 80,000 Ohioans who lost their SNAP coverage in the first 6 months after the Big, Ugly Bill was passed.
But it’s not just SNAP. Ohio families have already paid $1,500 more on average thanks to rising costs as Turner continues to rubber-stamp Washington Republicans’ devastating agenda.
DCCC Spokesperson Riya Vashi:
“Mike Turner’s cruelty knows no end. From gutting food assistance to driving up costs for hardworking families, he’s chosen to betray Ohioans at every turn — and it will cost him his seat in November.”
Read more:
Cleveland.com: Ohio’s food banks grappling with high demand that just keeps climbing with economy woes and aid cuts
- The Greater Cleveland Food Bank served about 350,000 people in 2019. A year later, that number jumped more than 15% to 404,000 and stayed there. More than 38 million pounds of food were distributed by food bank trucks in 2025.
- Food banks across Ohio say runaway inflation hurt household budgets, but even after it cooled, prices never came back down. Rent remains high. Utility bills and gas costs are climbing.
- “We’ve increased our own budget by about $35,000 to accommodate the increase in fuel costs,” Ponza said.
- But what worries Ponza and Hochron more is the overhaul of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
- When benefits get cut, the effects don’t stop at the checkout line. Food banks fill the gap. Local grocery stores lose revenue. And in rural counties like Adams, where one in five residents receives benefits, that can shake the local economy.
- “I don’t think we can emphasize enough what the impact of changes coming to SNAP could mean for hunger and economic stability in Ohio,” Hochron said.
- President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” expanded work requirements, added new monthly documentation rules and restricted the purchase of soda and sugary drinks. For the first time, it also shifted part of the program’s administrative cost onto states.
- All of that amounted to a 20% drop in SNAP spending over the next decade. A reduction researchers at Harvard’s Kennedy School called the “biggest SNAP cuts in history.”
- Ohio began rolling out the work requirements in March, and by the end of April, ODJFS notified nearly 13,000 people that their benefits were ending.
- Those terminations were in addition to the 80,000 people who dropped off the rolls between the July passage of the law and January of this year.
- Food banks worry those numbers include eligible families who got tangled in the new bureaucratic tape.
- Larger cuts could still be coming. Starting in 2028, states with high payment error rates will have to cover a portion of actual benefit costs.
- Ohio receives about $263 million a month in federal food assistance. Picking up 10% of that would cost Ohio more than $300 million a year — money the state would either have to find or make up by cutting benefits.
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