Ohio food banks are distributing more food these days than during the recession a few years ago.
The Ohio Association of Foodbanks says a difficult employment climate and increased costs for daily necessities are to blame.
The association says state food banks distributed 45 percent more food and supplies in fiscal year 2012 than they did just three years earlier at the height of the recession.
The Dayton Daily News reports that the 164 million pounds of food distributed to pantries and other charities in the last year was an increase that is alarming to officials throughout the state.
They say the increase matches the trend of greater "food insecurity" in Ohio, which is also growing throughout the country.