Mid‑Ohio Food Collective (MOFC) told the council committee it distributed over 51.5 million pounds of food across its Franklin County network last year — enough to supply roughly 43 million meals — and that demand for pantry and partner‑agency services has about doubled since 2021.

Senior Vice President Mike Cochran told council the network served more than 1.25 million service visits across Franklin County in 2024, up from about 670,000 in 2021. He said about two‑thirds of distributed food was fresh produce, dairy, meat and other perishable items and that roughly 95% of the food provided to partner agencies was supplied at no cost to those agencies.

Programs and investments sought: MOFC highlighted the Mid Ohio Market model (free grocery‑style markets, paired with wrap‑around services such as housing and benefits navigation) and asked for continued investments in refrigerated storage, transportation capacity and expanded pantry services. The committee also heard from the Local Food Board, which requested $50,000 for cold‑storage equipment to help Columbus Food Rescue divert surplus food and $40,000 to pilot a food‑is‑medicine produce‑prescription program and SNAP/WIC enrollment expansions at Columbus Public Health resource centers.

Why it matters: MOFC said the increased food demand is driven by ongoing inflationary pressures and housing cost increases; it warned that the end of pandemic era funding and other federal programs has left the network more reliant on local support. Cochran urged the city to consider investments that both keep food flowing now and build infrastructure to stabilize supply and distribution over time.

No formal votes were taken.