Purpose

The Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks established the Ohio Agricultural Clearance Program to expand capacity to feed hungry individuals and to prevent waste of agricultural products.

Description

The Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks (OASHF) administers the Ohio Agricultural Clearance Program (OACP) that makes use of surplus agricultural products to ensure that Ohio families have a source of nutritious Ohio-grown/raised, and produced food products.  OACP is an innovative partnership that links the Ohio General Assembly, the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, OASHF, member foodbanks, the agricultural community, Ohio growers and processors.  Note: OACP was formerly known as the Ohio Agricultural Surplus Production Alliance.

The program serves multiple purposes:

• To provide Ohio-produced produce and processed food products to clients
• To enhance the capabilities and operations of Ohio’s emergency food assistance network to feed hungry individuals
• To prevent waste and assist Ohio’s farmers, growers, and commodity producers in regaining costs for surplus and/or unmarketable agricultural products.

An OACP Manual contains detailed information about the program including:

• Introduction and Overview
• Program Chart
• Administration duties
• Formation and roles of Advisory Council
• Information distribution to increase awareness of and participation from the farming community
• Farmer involvement
• Processing and processor responsibilities
• Components of working with foodbanks
• 2007 OACP reimbursement rates by product
• Informational brochure to encourage support and participation 
• State Funding Fact Sheet 2007
• Funders, Supporters, and Staff

Note:  Expanded OACP information and material is included in the Ohio Food Purchase Agricultural Clearance Program's Manual.

State legislation was passed to provide funding for OACP and the Ohio Food Program to (a) support program administration, (b) enable purchase of surplus fresh vegetables, fruits and protein items from Ohio farmers, and (c) allow capacity building grants that help food pantries purchase equipment such as freezers and refrigerators to improve distribution efforts.  $5,167,620 was appropriated in FY’10 for the Ohio Agricultural Clearance Program (OACP) to purchase an estimated 22,467,913 million pounds of fresh fruits, vegetables and protein items. 

State funding levels have grown from $1.5 million in 1997 to over $12 million biennially.  A minimal amount is reimbursed to foodbanks for storage and distribution costs (i.e. $.02152 per pound in 2007).  Foodbanks are prohibited from charging shared maintenance on OACP products.

One of the basic principles of OASPA is that the program should not impact the market for agricultural products.  Therefore, stipulations have been created for the management of the Production Alliance:

• OACP products must be considered surplus produce.
• The Production Alliance should not become a market, or pay market price, for agricultural products.
• The Production Alliance should not focus on any one particular product and/or otherwise harm the business of farmers and growers.

Stipulations are also made regarding the wholesomeness of produce.  Produce must be of good quality, only product of retail grade or greater is accepted.  Produce may be off specifications in color or shape, but quality must remain high.

OACP Items include chicken and eggs that serve as important sources of protein previously unavailable or very limited through emergency food assistance programs.  Additionally, to help raise understanding and awareness of food stamp eligibility, several participating egg producers agreed to print Food Stamp Eligibility information on egg cartons that are distributed to foodbanks through OACP.

A map showing the origin of OACP products reflects the diverse participation of farmers and growers across the state.  A listing of OFPACP vendors is included in the OASHF SFY2008 Annual Report (p. 8).

Outcomes

Food purchased through the Ohio Food Purchase and Agriculture Clearance Program (OFP/ACP), OASHF’s core program, helps our 12 regional foodbanks and their member charities supplement and enhance local food purchase programs, donated food items, and USDA’s TEFAP and Commodity Supplemental Food Programs (CSFP).  The OFP/ACP programs provide an even broader and more nutritious selection of food for families, individuals, seniors and the millions of working poor Ohioans frequenting local agencies.  During SFY 2009, OASHF acquired and distributed more than 24.5 million pounds of food, consisting of highly nutritious fresh fruits, vegetables, chicken, eggs and other shelf-stable items.

In FY’08, a total of 16,288,621 pounds of fresh and processed Ohio-grown and raised commodities were made available to over 3,000 charitable food assistance organizations representing over 12.7 million meals.  Items included 39 different fruits and vegetables as listed in the OASHF SFY2008 Annual Report (p. 7).  This represents 17% of the total food distributed by the 12 OASHF member regional foodbanks.  OACP also provided $234,994 to help build the capacity of Ohio’s emergency food assistance agencies through purchase of equipment and provision of training, technical assistance and support for innovative programs.

OACP enables a significant return on investment in based on the comparable wholesale cost of items provided.  The average valuation of OASPA purchases is approximately 25% of wholesale pricing.

Between October 1999 through June 2005, over 39.7 million pounds of OACP items were distributed to foodbanks, pantries, soup kitchens and ultimately, hungry Ohioans.  During the same period, the program also provided over 4,369 refrigerators, freezers, handcarts, dollies, printers and fax machines to expand the capacity of food distribution agencies.

A state epidemiologist has cited the benefits of OACP toward improved health status. Through use of unmarketable or surplus products, OACP also promotes support for agricultural enterprises that are threatened by pricing challenges.  Additionally, the program generates employment for workers involved with harvesting, handling and transporting OACP items.

OACP works in conjunction with the Ohio Food Program (OFP) to successfully supplement food resources and provide quality products for low-income Ohioans.  The two programs together provided 17% or 12,563,999 pounds of food distributed through OASHF member foodbanks in FY’05.