Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen and Social Center is in the heart of Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Every weekday morning, the soup kitchen is overflowing with people looking for a meal.
“We have had a 27% increase in meals since May of this year,” said Georgine Getty, the soup kitchen's executive director.
But the number hasn't just gone up in 2024.
“Before COVID we were doing about 200 meals a day, and now we’re on average of doing well over 600 meals a day," Getty said.
Derek Smith mans Our Daily Bread's takeout window, and he told us he's noticed the lines get longer as the weeks go by.
“We seen a different type of demographic coming here now. At first it was just the underprivileged, the disadvantaged and the homeless, and now it's everybody," Smith said.
The Ohio Association of Foodbanks, which represents Ohio's 12 Feeding America food banks and thousands of hunger relief centers in the state, investigated recent hunger-related issues.
Executive Director Joree Novotny said that issues surrounding hunger continue to grow.
“Food insecurity has been on the rise for the last couple of years,” Novotny said.
Novotny said in recent years the association has seen record-setting numbers of people visiting food banks in Ohio.
The organization released their "Hunger in Ohio 2024" study, which was a survey taken April 15 to May 12 from people visiting food banks.
According to the association's data, people visiting food banks have had to make tough decisions about paying their bills. A majority of food bank visitors have had to choose between paying for medical care or paying for food, according to the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.
The data also reported that 65% of food bank visitors reported adults in their home skipped meals in the past year because they didn't have enough food.
"It keeps me up at night when I hear the amount of adults in Ohio who are making the difficult choice to skip meals," Novotny said.
At Our Daily Bread in OTR, they're making sure they don't let any food go to waste.
“Thankfully 100% of our food is rescued or donated," Getty said.
The center also supplies its visitors with the help of a social worker, to assist with employment opportunities, transportation and other needs.
"I believe this is the Lord's will," said Freddie Dallas, who's been visiting the Our Daily Bread for about two months.
Derek Smith, a window expediter at Our Daily Bread, said the soup kitchen works to spread a message of hope and community to the people they serve.
"Work, love, eat, play, Over-the-Rhine," Smith said.
He also said Our Daily Bread and all other local soup kitchens, food pantries or food banks are always in need of donations.
