Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio’s 35th annual Harvest for Hunger campaign kick-off took place Feb. 26 at their headquarters in Lorain. Included in the festivities were happy hour refreshments, raffles, and supplies to promote the campaign and continue to draw in support from the community, for the community. 

This event marks the beginning of this year’s Harvest for Hunger campaign, which runs from March 1 through May. Second Harvest works with the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, and Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley to coordinate the campaign. This year it is receiving support from Rotary District 6600, whose 2025–26 District Governor Pam Brumbaugh attended the kick-off.

“We support the [Harvest for Hunger] campaign because it reflects the heart of our Rotary mission, which is ‘Service Above Self,’” Brumbaugh said. “We know that when Rotarians unite to give our time, our voices, [and] in this case our food and our financial support, that we can strengthen the safety net that keeps our communities fed, supported, and hopeful.”

Harvest for Hunger aims to raise enough funds to provide 3.9 million meals for community members facing food insecurity. The campaign brings in donations that provide nutritional support for the entire region.

“It’s not just supporting Second Harvest, but it’s also supporting the whole network of programs that exist in our area, North Central Ohio,” Second Harvest President and CEO Julie Chase-Morefield said. “It’s a remarkable campaign. I don’t believe there’s another campaign like it in the country that brings together four different food banks in such a large geographic area.” 

Since 1982, Second Harvest has been feeding 21 counties as an official non-profit organization. The food bank was first established under the name County Cupboard, but in the mid-1990s the board changed the name to Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio as they began a new campaign to fund the building of new facilities to accommodate the increasing local need. On June 1, 2015, operations began out of Nordson Food Distribution Center, allowing for a tripling of the capacity of their operations. This facility was one of its kind to be established in Ohio, providing hot meals, shelters, and programs for all ages, from children to elders. Following this development, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed Second Harvest to expand operations even further as the number of needed meals doubled weekly. This made way for the addition of more contactless ways of getting people the food they need, such as drive-thru food pantries and increased mobile distribution methods. 

“We’re hopeful, but the need has remained high since the pandemic,” Chase-Morefield said.

Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio turns every dollar donated into six meals to be distributed, and while they are able to provide 30,000 meals every day, the winter months typically promise a slow in the flow of donations. Harvest for Hunger strives to fill that gap to continue feeding those facing food insecurity. The tagline for the 2026 Harvest for Hunger campaign is “100% Local. 100% Impact.” This means that every dollar donated will stay in the immediate community, allowing the support to have a direct impact on the local population. 

Additionally, in response to the SNAP cuts resulting from the government shutdown in late 2025, the Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio curated links on their website to help people find immediate assistance such as local hot meal programs. There are also members of the Second Harvest team who are available to walk people through the process of accessing their SNAP benefits. 

“We want to make it as easy as possible for somebody to connect to resources because there’s a host of people out there, wonderful volunteers, wonderful staff at different programs, and they’re there to help,” Chase-Morefield said. “That’s what the network’s all about.”

Additionally, several grocery stores in the region such as Giant Eagle, Heinen’s, and Buehler’s Fresh Foods, as well as GetGo Cafe and Markets, are offering Check Out Hunger donation options at cash registers. 

“Our core mission is about making sure that we’re able to help people meet their food needs today,” Chase-Morefield said. “That’s always going to be our core mission.”