With the recent reduction in SNAP benefits, many individuals and families in our communities are facing greater food insecurity. To better respond to these growing needs, the Diocese of Ohio is compiling information about parish food ministries and any related requests for assistance. We invite you to share details about your parish’s food ministry, whether it’s a pantry, meal program, or other outreach effort. To submit information, please contact Emily Tamulewicz.

Church of Our Saviour, Akron provides groceries (non-perishable) on the last Monday of the month from 7:30-10:00 a.m. One of the partners is St. Vincent de Paul Parish Ministry Center in Akron, along with the Akron Canton Food Bank, and the donations of food, money, and time by parishioners. Church of Our Saviour also provides free to-go community meals, called Dinner on Us, on the last two Wednesdays of the month at 5:30 p.m., along with the Friendly Closet where clients can browse for clothing and small household items.

St. Paul’s, Akron hosts a Community Meal every Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. in the Assembly Hall. This meal is free and open to all.

St. Philip's, Akron is a partner with the Summit Fresh Mobile Market. This is a wonderful way to reach communities that are in food deserts or are food insecure.

St. Barnabas, Bay Village has The Community Cupboard, which is open every day from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. The mission is to provide free, supplemental food for neighbors in need, honoring their dignity through anonymity and quality choices. Visit the St. Barnabas Website for more information.

St. Matthew's, Brecksville participates in the Brookside Cluster of Churches Community Meal program. The meals are served the last 2 Sundays of every month at The Wholeness Project (a new location for meals, beginning 11/23/25) at 3389 Fulton Rd, Cleveland. Anyone who would like a hot meal is welcome from 4:30-5:30 p.m.

St. Patrick, Brunswick has a Blessing Box located on the North outside of the building on Marks Road, just south of Boston Road. It is stocked with non-perishables and is welcome to anyone. Just come by and take what you need, or leave something if you can. St. Patrick has a community garden where people can use a plot to grow their own food.

St. Luke's, Cleveland offers a Community Meal with to-go and vegan options, every Wednesday from 4:00-6:00 p.m. Free clothing store is open from 4:00-6:00 p.m. as well. No ID needed. Mobile Pantry, 2nd and 4th Monday every month is open from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Please bring a state ID. There is also a little free pantry outside the church door that always has nonperishable food in it.

Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland welcomes guests to A Place at the Table; our free hot meal served on Sundays from 12pm-1pm. This meal is made possible through our partnership with Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries and our various volunteer teams. If any parishes are interested in learning more about how they can volunteer and support this meal, they can contact Eric Travis at etravis@trinitycathedral.org. The Urban Farm ministry supports various food programs and local pantries with fresh produce. If anyone is interested in learning more about how they can volunteer or support the Farm, they can contact Geoffrey Jacobson at geoffrey.s.jacobson@gmail.com The Cathedral is participating in the adopt-a-shelf program at the Friendly Inn's food pantry, a program designed to support the food pantry after funding cuts. If any parishes are interested in adopting-a-shelf or learning more about how they can support this ministry, they can contact Rev. Megan Allen-Miller at mallen-miller@trinitycleveland.org

St. John's, Cuyahoga Falls provides Soup's On, a hot meal the 4th Saturday of every month. Each household receives as many meals as they need, and a bag of household groceries, as well as breads, sweets, frozen meats, and other items as available. The November meal will be a dine-in meal (switched to drive-thru after COVID), in conjunction with our Toy Shoppe, a free gift-shopping experience for guests who are dining in. Volunteer or inquire at stjohns-soupson@sbcglobal.net.

Christ Church, Kent participates in a community food ministry, Lord's Lunch at Trinity Lutheran Kent. A rotation of churches & other community organizations around Kent all take Saturdays throughout the year where they will cook and serve a hot lunch for all attendees, 11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Church of the Redeemer, Lorain offers a community lunch at 12:00 p.m. at the church every Wednesday. Every Thursday at 5 p.m., a hot community meal, often cooked with ingredients from the Solidarity Urban Farm, is offered. The 2nd Thursday of each month is the free hygiene pantry that coincides with the Community Hot Meal at 5 p.m. and offers items that are not easily purchased with SNAP or other benefits like paper goods, cleaning supplies, etc. The kitchen/location hosts a meal the last Sunday of every month at 12:00 p.m. The Solidarity Urban Farm produce is able to be purchased using WIC/SNAP benefits when the farm is in season and they assist/provide produce for WIC boxes in Lorain County. They also have an emergency food pantry that people can access that has dry goods. Church of the Redeemer also supports and works closely with Lorain Cooperative Ministries, made up of fellow churches across Lorain of other denominations, that also offers resources to the community for food, clothing and transportation needs. Lorain Cooperative Ministry | Lorain County, OH
Volunteers are welcome to assist at any of the meal programs at any time. The Solidarity Urban Farms harvest season is winding down now, but will start up again in March/April. Throughout the spring/summer/fall, Church of the Redeemer has regular volunteer hours available to help with farm plots throughout the city, and also offers a weekly Tuesday night cook-out from 4:00-6:00 p.m. on the main farm plot that runs from June through September every Tuesday night. If you would like to volunteer, send an email to Jenna, Outreach Coordinator at solidarityurbanfarms@gmail.com.

Christ Church, Oberlin hosts Oberlin Weekday Community Meals, a program that serves free meals 4 evenings a week. Mondays and Thursdays the meal is served family-style in the Parish Hall (the big red building behind the church) from 5:00-5:30 p.m. On Tuesdays and Fridays, the meals are carry-out, available 5:00-5:30 p.m. There are no meals served on Wednesdays. Everyone is welcome; no identification, etc. required or requested; whoever shows up is served a meal.

All Saints, Parma hosts a food pantry, The Grace Place, open on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. by appointment. Folks can schedule an appointment on the website. Volunteers are needed every other Monday. All Saints also has an Amazon wishlist and takes monetary donations.

St. Timothy's, Perrysburg offers a Little Free Panty just inside the foyer that is accessible from 7:00 a.m. - 9 p.m. daily. The free soup supper is every Wednesday at 6:00 p.m., and the free breakfast is every 2nd Friday of the month, from 9:30 a.m - 11:00 a.m.

St. John's, Youngstown hosts the Red Door Cafe, a weekly meal on Sundays at 12:00 p.m., available to anyone who comes. They also host the Red Door Food Pantry - Third Saturday of each month, 10:00-11:00 a.m., grocery distribution (including fresh produce when available). Available to residents of Youngstown (zip codes 44501-44511).