Commissioner Lopez’s proposed $1M for Lucas County food banks fails; commissioners approve $100K instead

LUCAS COUNTY, Ohio — Two Lucas County commissioners voted against their colleague’s motion to give $1 million to local food banks in response to the ongoing government shutdown, and instead unanimously approved funding for a different amount. 

Commissioner Anita Lopez introduced the motion to donate $1 million to two food banks, but during a meeting Tuesday, the motion failed: commissioners Pete Gerken and Lisa Sobecki voted against the motion.

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Shortly thereafter, all three commissioners approved a resolution to give $100,000, with $50,000 going to Connecting Kids to Meals and $50,000 going to the Islamic Food Bank. 

Regarding the failed $1 million motion, Gerken argued that $1 million without a plan would not solve the problem:

“I’m not against feeding kids, we have to do that,” he said during the meeting. “But having been a part of a community dialogue and a systematic approach for the last 10 days, is the reason I have to vote on one resolution to another…. I’m not going to get into games of who can throw money at a bad problem. But I’m going to support what I think makes sense. A million dollars without a plan doesn’t really solve the problem today.”

The efforts to distribute money to food banks comes as the government shutdown reaches its 35th day, and funding for EBT cards and SNAP has lapsed. Meanwhile, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order Thursday that will provide up to $25 million in food assistance to support families who may be affected by the SNAP suspension. 

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Almost 72,000 people in the Lucas County, roughly 17% of the total population, received SNAP benefits in September, and about 44% of them are children.