Dayton’s notoriety as one of America’s neediest cities has received fresh scrutiny in a Thanksgiving Eve report by the Dayton Daily News. 

Today’s article also reviews progress in the local fight against hunger, including the considerable contributions by Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley.

Reporter Cornelius Frolik notes that Dayton “ranked second in the nation for households with children with reported ‘food hardship’” in a recent study by the Food Research & Action Center, a national nonprofit lobby. Ohio as a whole doesn’t fare well either: Mr. Frolik quotes a new U.S. Department of Agriculture finding that 16.1% of state residents have “low or very low food insecurity,” sixth-highest in the nation and just behind neighboring Kentucky.

On the brighter side, the article notes a continued and vigorous response by local agencies and advocates, including Catholic Social Services which “this year hosted classes to educate people about how to save money, build and use credit, lower their grocery bills and find and use discounted prescription programs. It also held cooking demonstrations and a session focused on managing holiday stress.”

The report includes these numbers:

“Last year, 1,953 of the families served by the food pantry operated by Catholic Social Services (33 percent of the total) were first-time visitors, which suggests that many residents are newly poor or recently encountered financial hardship.

“The Choice Food Pantry, which is one of the county’s busiest pantries, on average serves about 40 to 125 families per day, depending on whether it is early or late in the month, said Laura Roesch, CEO of the agency.

“The number of clients who visit the pantry for emergency food assistance is still up about 40 percent since 2008, she said, adding that Catholic Social Services also conducts assessments and interviews visitors to connect them with other resources, such as job training and housing programs.”

The full article is here. Go here to learn how your One Faith, One Hope, One Love gift is helping Cathollic Charities and Social Services meet the needs of the poor and vulnerable.