by Karen Kasler
Though more Ohioans are working, new data shows the numbers of people living in poverty aren’t moving.
Nearly 16 percent of the population, or 1.8 million Ohioans, live at or below the federal poverty level, including nearly a quarter of Ohio’s children. These new Census Bureau numbers are nearly unchanged since last year, even most of those in poverty have full-time jobs.
But they clearly don’t pay enough, said Lisa Hamler Fugitt with the Ohio Association of Food Banks, who described the current state of poverty and hunger in Ohio as "staggering."
Advocates suggest more investment in education, more money for emergency food programs, affordable housing and child care, and for the state to create a refundable earned income tax credit.