Shay Frank
Food Insecurity & Agriculture ReporterExpertise: Agriculture, housing and homelessness, farming policy, hunger and food access, grocery industry, sustainable food systems
Contact: sfrank@wyso.org
Shay Frank (she/her) was born and raised in Dayton. She joined WYSO as a reporter in 2024, after freelancing for the news department for three years.
Prior to WYSO, Shay covered the arts for The Blade in Toledo.
She graduated from University of Dayton with a Bachelor of Arts in communications and has been honored to be a repeat guest at her alma mater, speaking about her career in journalism.
Her current reporting focuses on food insecurity and agriculture, including solutions to food access in the Miami Valley. This has ranged from grocery access, to composting, to the Farm Bill and more. In 2025, her deep dive into Ohio's gas station boom was recognized with a first place award for enterprise reporting by the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists.
She also works with the music department at WYSO to research and record weekend music breaks for Novaphonic.fm.
Shay is thrilled to be working with the team at WYSO and reporting for her hometown community.
Why trust us
WYSO's independent, nonprofit news team has decades of experience writing and reporting. Our first responsibility is to be a trusted source of news for the Miami Valley and southwest Ohio. There is no connection between our funding and editorial decisions.
Our mission is to produce trustworthy journalism that is fact-based, researched, transparent, intellectually curious, pushes beyond the obvious answers, local, fair, and, when it’s called for, embraces the search for solutions. We believe an educated citizenry is essential to the functioning of our democracy.
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After a multi-state settlement with Kia and Hyundai, Ohio Kia and Hyundai drivers could be eligible for compensation and free anti-theft protection -
Sheltered Inc. had planned to close its Hartley House Shelter for Men in January and Norm’s Place women and children’s shelter in March. -
Representatives from organizations across Montgomery County gathered at Dayton's Courthouse Square on Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day to recognize 39 unhoused people who died in 2025. -
Deeply Rooted Landscapes in Tipp City has offered living, potted Christmas trees for four years, working to cut waste and expand interest in native plants across the region -
Close to 500 pieces have been donated to the Dayton Art Institute to create a new collection of feminist art. -
Dayton-based CareSource is a health insurance company, which primarily manages privatized Medicaid plans. -
WYSO is home to one of the only food and agriculture reporters in Ohio. Here are our top three stories we followed this year on those topics. -
After eight years serving the Miami Valley at St. Vincent de Paul Society of Dayton, Michael Vanderburgh has stepped down as executive director. Now, the local nonprofit is seeking a new leader. -
Lebanon City Schools invested around $8,000 in the hydroponic garden systems. But the nutrition team said it's already paying for itself. -
Need help with affording home repairs? The City of Dayton is committing $2.6 million to the Dayton Home Repair Revolving Loan Program.
