CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio — In response to an 'significant increase' in calls for emergency food assistance, Cuyahoga County announced that they will increase funding by $250,000.
Earlier this month, severe storms caused hundreds of thousands of power outages, leading to the widespread loss of food throughout Northeast Ohio.
The county announced today that they would work with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank to help restore food lost in the outages.
“We appreciate our partnership with Cuyahoga County,” said Kristin Warzocha, president and CEO, Greater Cleveland Food Bank. “These funds will help struggling families and seniors after the recent storms and power outages and be used to purchase and distribute additional healthy protein and dairy items, along with other nutritious food, to help our neighbors restock their refrigerators and freezers.”
Data provided by the United Way Services of Greater Cleveland revealed "an upwards of 300% increase in food service requests because of the storms." The county added that additional levy dollars "were approved by the Board of Control for the United Way of Greater Cleveland Emergency Food Purchase contract.
“We understand that many of our residents with low or no income were severely affected by the storms, losing a significant amount of food, and that efforts to mitigate the loss were further compounded by limited power and cell service,” said David Merriman, the County’s Director of Health and Human Services. “This funding will allow us to speed up relief efforts and get families back on their feet.”
To find a food bank location near you, visit the link here.
Previous reporting on recent power outages:
