Children’s Hunger Alliance’s partner Groundwork Ohio released its policy roadmap, “Driving Change,” in November 2024 after a listening tour of 13 diverse communities across Ohio in the summer of 2024. CHA participated in several of these events including events in Columbus, Dayton, Athens, and Toledo.
One of the key priorities of the Groundwork Ohio agenda is making the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) more accessible and improving benefit redemption for qualifying families. This can be accomplished by:
- Investing in new technology
- Modernizing the benefits process to allow online renewals
- Permitting telehealth appointments
- Enabling benefits to be added remotely to EBT cards
Groundwork Ohio is committed to working with policymakers, families, educators, and communities to accomplish their agenda in 2025.
Many of their proposals can begin to be accomplished through pending legislation (House Bill 7) sponsored by State Reps. Andrea White (R-Kettering) and Latyna M. Humphrey (D-Columbus). The bill contains provisions requiring the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) to investigate and determine the feasibility of incorporating various changes to WIC enrollment and benefit distribution processes. It requires ODH to submit a report to the General Assembly detailing the results of its investigation and appropriates $2 million in FY2024 and FY2025 to support these efforts.
CHA, along with Groundwork Ohio, the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, and other human services agencies, strongly supports the passage of HB 7, which is currently pending in the Senate Finance Committee.