St. Vincent de Paul’s Catino Food Assistance aisles are bustling.
Patrons shift through the store, located at 1125 William L. Mallory Sr. St., selecting family-sized portions of protein, produce, beans, bread and personal hygiene products.
Each month, those facing food insecurity can visit this pantry — or any St. Vincent de Paul food pantry — to get food for their families.
In 2025, more than 134,400 people were served through St. Vincent de Paul’s network of pantries, according to its 2025 impact report.
Now, Vice President of External Relations Kaytlynd Lainhart said that the number is rising.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for SVDP’s food pantries has increased by nearly 300%, according to Lainhart.
“We’re flying through our inventory,” Lainhart said. “I don’t think this is unique to Cincinnati. I think there are a lot of people struggling with food right now. Just the price of everything is exhausting.”
“We’ve seen drastic increases since that time, and we’ve had less funding,” Lainhart added.
Cincinnati City Councilwoman Anna Albi said the rise in food insecurity is tied to broader economic pressures.
“Food costs are going up, but wages have been stagnant, and the rising cost of living has been really tough for our residents,” Albi said. “It’s not just groceries, but also housing and utilities — people are being forced to make really tough decisions.”
St. Vincent de Paul is celebrating its 150th anniversary serving the Cincinnati region, providing support for housing stability, food security and health equity. St. Vincent de Paul has been serving the Cincinnati region for more than 150 years, providing support for housing stability, food security and health equity. Lainhart added that 81% of those served live within Cincinnati ZIP codes.
During the pandemic, the nonprofit received between $1 million and $2 million annually from government sources alone, quickly distributing those funds to assist people facing housing instability. This funding has since declined, despite the need sharply increasing.
Now, Lainhart said food insecurity has become “a daily pressing need.”
Last year, SVDP provided more than $7 million worth of food.
In late February, Lainhart appeared before the Cincinnati City Council to request funding and was allocated about $144,000 for the year.
The Freestore Foodbank, which sends some of its food to St. Vincent de Paul, is also struggling to keep up with the rise in food demand. The organization serves close to 275,000 people facing food insecurity throughout the 600 pantries in the 20 counties it serves. Nearly 82,000 of that population are children, Kurt Reiber, president and CEO of Freestore Foodbank, said.
“We’ve seen a really large increase in demand, 35% actually, year-over-year in the amount of food that we’re distributing,” Reiber said.
The Freestore president added that the inflating demand could be a result of the pandemic, where people spent much of their reserves and while they are still working, inflation and current economic challenges have created barriers for the organization’s clients.
“About two-thirds of the families that we serve have to make a decision as to whether they’re going to pay rent or they’re going to buy food,” Rieber said. “Unfortunately, the challenges that folks are facing right now are multiplied by the fact that you have higher inflationary pressures across the board on all aspects of the economy.”
That economic pressure doesn’t seem to be relieving families any time soon.
Last summer, Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, cutting $186 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which provides food assistance to 1.45 million Ohioans and 42 million Americans, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.
“It’s just too expensive to be alive,” Lainhart said. “I don’t think Cincinnati is too special for it. I think that people are getting hit hard.”
According to Feeding America, a partner of Freestore Foodbank, 48 million Americans are facing food insecurity, 14.4% of the United States’ population. The site says hunger affects each county in the nation.
Both Lainhart and Rieder agreed that food costs are not the only issue at present leading to financial struggles.
“So many in Cincinnati are just one instance away from everything being upended in their life,” Lainhart said. “It’s just fragile. We need to be that safety net, and we have enough nonprofits in the community that we shouldn’t be seeing as many people struggling as we are.”
So, what is the city doing about this?
The city of Cincinnati is trying a unique approach to help families increase their access to food, Albi said.
A 12-month pilot program in Winton Hills is underway that will give up to 200 families $100 a month to spend on their groceries and get free grocery delivery with Kroger.
Councilwoman Albi said program members can have $100 credited on their Kroger mobile app or online ordering to order anything that’s not alcohol, tobacco, gas or prescription drugs. This $100 credit is in addition to SNAP benefits, and members get free delivery of those groceries.
Thus far, this pilot program is about half full since the program opened in December 2025, Albi added.
Albi also spoke about the Impact Award. This grant of $850,000 is meant to address food insecurity in eight of the Queen City’s neighborhoods hit hardest by gun violence. The plan is to create urban farms, plus in five of those neighborhoods, create community hubs to distribute the food that is grown. The Impact Award will also fund numerous urban farming operations. Partners expect to grow tens of thousands of pounds of produce and create jobs for neighborhood residents.
“Food is the most fundamental thing we have, and lack of access to food very rapidly leads to deteriorating communities,” said city manager Sheryl Long on the city’s website.
Three neighborhood hubs will be established in the first year, in Avondale, East Price Hill, and the West End, according to the city’s website. These Hubs will offer food, connection to other services and opportunities for community building.
“So that work is in progress now,” Albi said, as she spoke about her excitement for the city’s systemic change when it comes to food access. “The cold, hard truth of the matter is, we will not be able to open a brick-and-mortar grocery store in every single neighborhood.
“The market will not be able to sustain that,” Albi added, “A brick and mortar is really hard to sustain … We really have to look at what other ways we can get food into the community.”
How can the public help?
Both Lainhart and Rieber said donations go a long way for their nonprofits fighting hunger within Cincinnati.
“If folks are in a position where they can make a financial contribution or come and volunteer, they can come and click on Freestorefoodbank.org,” Rieber said.
Lainhart said donating food, especially with their food drives, is one of the most effective ways to help them serve those facing food insecurity.
“When we have to purchase with our own budget, you’ll see, generic, more low-cost brands, and we do a food drive in the community, that’s when we get quality stuff,” Lainhart said, pointing to a wall of generic branded tuna cans in the Catino Food Pantry. “That’s when our whole pantry aisle gets like a makeover of nice brands, and everybody that we serve freaks out. It’s so nice.”