COLUMBUS — Ohio stands to lose an estimated $38 million in federal funding to administer food assistance starting Thursday, with the state’s largest metro counties facing the deepest gaps. Historically, the federal government and the state split the administrative costs of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. But under HR1, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the federal share drops from 50 percent to 25 percent on Oct. 1. About 1.4 million Ohioans are enrolled in the program, which provides monthly grocery funds to low-income households. The lost dollars flow to county Jobs and Family Services departments, which run SNAP locally. To cushion the blow, the Ohio legislature budgeted about $12.5 million in March to offset counties’ losses — but lawmakers chose to split those funds equally among all 88 counties.
Under that formula, each county receives $226,486, or whatever amount fills its gap if it lost less than that. The approach makes 59 counties whole again, but many metro counties with far larger caseloads are left to replace millions on their own. Cuyahoga County faces the largest gap at an estimated $7 million. Republican lawmakers argued the metro counties can cover the difference from their own general funds while rural counties cannot. “The bill treats all counties equally,” Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville, said on the House floor in March. “These largest counties we are clutching pearls over have the money.” County agencies say they are bracing for tighter budgets just as demand for assistance remains high across the state.
Advocates warn the cuts could slow application processing and strain the local offices Ohio families rely on. Lawmakers say they will watch how counties absorb the change in the months ahead.