Cuyahoga County hears urgent plea to maintain emergency food funding as demand surges
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Summary
United Way, Hunger Network and Greater Cleveland Food Bank told the county committee that pantry visits and new households are rising sharply amid SNAP changes and higher food costs and asked the county to sustain emergency food funding after a proposed reduction.
At a Health and Human Services and Aging Committee meeting, representatives from United Way of Greater Cleveland, the Hunger Network and the Greater Cleveland Food Bank told county council members that demand for emergency food in Cuyahoga County has increased substantially and urged the county to maintain current contract funding levels.
Jennifer (Jen) Kons, vice president of United Way of Greater Cleveland, said the county-funded emergency food contract for 2024–25 is $2,440,000 (plus a one-time $250,000 amendment tied to an August 2024 power outage) and that the contract is on track to be fully expended by Dec. 31, 2025. Kons told the committee the administration has issued a contract for the coming year that is “about $200,000 less per year” than 2024–25 and that the partners “would welcome any opportunity to maintain our ’24, ’25 levels into 26/27.”
Why it matters: presenters said federal SNAP changes and new work-reporting requirements are expected to increase food insecurity locally, while the purchasing power of dollars has fallen as food and freight costs have risen. Jessica Morgan, chief programs officer at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, said that whereas $1 once purchased roughly four meals, that same dollar now covers about two meals — a change she described as a key driver behind increased demand.
Details from the presentations: Emma Messett, hunger relief program director at Hunger Network, said the county contract supports 51 pantry sites (out of 69 in the Hunger Network system), and that 17 sites were added during the current contract after FEMA EFSP funding ended. Messett reported pantry visits rose about 9% year over year from Q3 2024 to Q3 2025, and she projected the network could see roughly 32,000 more visits in calendar year 2025 compared with 2024 using conservative monthly averages; unduplicated people served were projected to increase about 33%.
On data and referrals: the partners described coordination around intake and monthly accounting. Morgan said the food bank and network use an intake system called PantryTrack to record visits and limited demographic information; clients self-attest to eligibility (emergency food is for households below 200% of poverty). Jennifer Kons said 211 food-related calls to United Way/211 systems have increased about 25% in recent weeks and that food is now the No. 1 reason people contact 211 in their area.
Operations and capacity: presenters said they distribute roughly $81,000 a month in food through the contracted pantries and that they also spend contract funds on hygiene items and capacity grants (refrigeration, overhead). Hunger Network and the Food Bank described closer collaboration — joint manager meetings, coordinated site visits and complementary food-rescue work — and said a food-rescue kitchen pilot is planned to expand prepared-meal capacity in January, subject to space and funding constraints.
What the committee asked and what follows: council members pressed on how county dollars are targeted to Cuyahoga County sites, how decisions are made to add or support new pantries and where volunteer shortages limit operations. Director David Merriman (Department of Health and Human Services) said the presentation was informational and that the administration intends to present a contract proposal in the coming weeks; partners said they will share more live data with HHS and council as it becomes available.
The committee did not take a funding vote during the presentation; presenters asked the county to consider maintaining previous funding levels as budgets are finalized.
