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PantryPath Research · School Hunger Atlas

School hunger in Ohio

28% certified free/reduced

Across 3,462 public schools serving 1,635,100 students, 27.9% of Ohio students are certified free or reduced-price. 949 schools (33% of NSLP participants) operate under the Community Eligibility Provision, and 12.9% of students are directly certified through SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid linkage.

1.6M

Students enrolled

3,462

Public schools (CCD)

949

CEP / Provision 2 schools

88

Counties in atlas

Ohio by county

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Toggle between the school-food-access composite, free/reduced eligibility, CEP share, direct-certification rate, and SAIPE school-age poverty. Hover a county to see schools, enrollment, and the underlying certification mix.

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Lower
Higher

Ohio at a glance

Free/reduced

27.9%

Share of enrollment

CEP share

33%

Of NSLP schools

Direct cert

12.9%

SNAP/TANF/Medicaid

NSLP schools

84%

Serve NSLP meals

5–17 in poverty

16.6%

Census SAIPE 2023

Access score

0.41

Composite 0–1

The access score is a 0–1 composite weighted 50% eligibility, 30% CEP share, 20% NSLP share — a visualization and ranking aid, not a direct measurement. See methodology.

County-level hotspots

Top five counties across 88 in Ohio.

Highest free/reduced share

Certified ≤185% FPL per enrollment

  1. 1 Fayette 60.1%
  2. 2 Monroe 58.4%
  3. 3 Highland 52.6%
  4. 4 Morgan 51.8%
  5. 5 Clinton 51.3%

Highest CEP adoption

Of NSLP schools — min. 3 NSLP schools

  1. 1 Hocking 100%
  2. 2 Vinton 100%
  3. 3 Pike 92%
  4. 4 Meigs 71%
  5. 5 Guernsey 64%

Largest enrollment

Total students in CCD universe

  1. 1 Franklin 190K
  2. 2 Cuyahoga 156K
  3. 3 Hamilton 111K
  4. 4 Montgomery 73K
  5. 5 Lucas 72K

Every county in Ohio

All 88 counties with school counts, enrollment, certification mix, CEP adoption, and the SAIPE 5–17 poverty backdrop.

County Schools Enrollment Free/reduced CEP Direct cert 5–17 poverty Access
Adams 8 3,847 50.9% 25% 10.4% 23.0% 0.53
Allen 34 13,985 30.8% 37% 15.7% 18.3% 0.42
Ashland 19 6,706 38.0% 6% 0.6% 16.0% 0.38
Ashtabula 32 11,731 45.6% 25% 13.7% 26.8% 0.48
Athens 19 6,372 36.5% 36% 12.8% 19.9% 0.44
Auglaize 18 7,493 34.0% 0% 0.0% 8.7% 0.30
Belmont 22 8,428 44.0% 0% 0.0% 19.5% 0.37
Brown 16 6,283 48.9% 14% 3.6% 21.4% 0.46
Butler 84 57,734 27.9% 35% 14.4% 13.4% 0.43
Carroll 7 2,846 47.3% 0% 0.0% 16.4% 0.38
Champaign 15 6,309 44.5% 0% 0.0% 13.1% 0.37
Clark 39 19,571 27.9% 51% 25.1% 19.2% 0.47
Clermont 44 25,842 39.3% 0% 0.0% 10.2% 0.38
Clinton 15 6,122 51.3% 0% 0.0% 14.5% 0.44
Columbiana 38 13,098 25.2% 47% 16.4% 19.3% 0.43
Coshocton 9 4,419 33.7% 38% 17.4% 19.4% 0.46
Crawford 22 5,968 43.2% 8% 4.5% 16.6% 0.36
Cuyahoga 339 156,423 17.2% 55% 22.3% 21.2% 0.42
Darke 24 8,091 40.3% 0% 0.0% 10.1% 0.29
Defiance 14 5,741 50.1% 0% 0.0% 12.4% 0.39
Delaware 56 42,656 19.3% 0% 0.0% 5.3% 0.29
Erie 25 11,933 30.0% 27% 13.9% 17.2% 0.41
Fairfield 44 26,025 39.1% 0% 0.0% 10.1% 0.37
Fayette 7 4,436 60.1% 0% 0.0% 16.6% 0.50
Franklin 366 189,708 25.4% 50% 17.6% 19.8% 0.45
Fulton 20 7,084 38.9% 0% 0.0% 10.6% 0.36
Gallia 14 4,077 27.6% 62% 23.0% 22.3% 0.51
Geauga 21 9,732 19.7% 0% 0.0% 6.1% 0.28
Greene 36 21,562 19.8% 31% 10.5% 10.7% 0.37
Guernsey 15 4,455 18.6% 64% 24.2% 20.4% 0.43
Hamilton 197 110,636 20.6% 53% 21.1% 16.3% 0.44
Hancock 34 11,886 35.8% 0% 0.0% 10.6% 0.30
Hardin 14 4,061 45.5% 0% 0.0% 17.7% 0.33
Harrison 3 1,435 47.9% 0% 0.0% 18.5% 0.37
Henry 10 4,009 36.3% 0% 0.0% 10.3% 0.28
Highland 18 6,532 52.6% 0% 0.0% 17.1% 0.40
Hocking 7 3,418 0.0% 100% 39.0% 19.9% 0.50
Holmes 16 3,386 28.7% 0% 0.0% 10.0% 0.33
Huron 21 7,287 50.9% 0% 0.0% 18.9% 0.39
Jackson 11 4,749 25.7% 55% 24.4% 21.6% 0.49
Jefferson 23 8,330 43.2% 29% 18.0% 22.4% 0.48
Knox 18 7,163 40.0% 13% 3.8% 13.6% 0.41
Lake 53 28,108 30.8% 11% 3.5% 14.1% 0.35
Lawrence 23 8,622 16.3% 63% 28.8% 19.5% 0.44
Licking 59 28,957 45.8% 2% 0.3% 11.4% 0.40
Logan 12 5,888 49.5% 0% 0.0% 13.2% 0.43
Lorain 87 41,821 30.0% 34% 11.9% 14.1% 0.43
Lucas 131 72,042 20.5% 52% 15.4% 23.0% 0.43
Madison 17 6,661 40.9% 8% 0.9% 11.4% 0.38
Mahoning 72 27,854 31.5% 48% 20.0% 26.3% 0.46
Marion 24 11,804 20.0% 45% 21.0% 19.8% 0.42
Medina 41 24,356 26.8% 0% 0.0% 7.8% 0.32
Meigs 8 3,005 12.6% 71% 35.6% 29.2% 0.45
Mercer 21 7,938 24.3% 0% 0.0% 7.9% 0.25
Miami 35 15,571 32.5% 0% 0.0% 10.8% 0.29
Monroe 7 1,599 58.4% 0% 0.0% 21.5% 0.49
Montgomery 155 72,817 28.5% 42% 19.0% 20.4% 0.44
Morgan 5 1,632 51.8% 40% 16.0% 21.4% 0.58
Morrow 12 4,767 41.5% 9% 0.9% 12.8% 0.42
Muskingum 30 13,353 26.9% 36% 21.7% 21.4% 0.43
Noble 4 1,789 51.3% 0% 0.0% 14.1% 0.46
Ottawa 16 4,981 38.8% 0% 0.0% 11.4% 0.32
Paulding 10 2,895 45.1% 0% 0.0% 13.3% 0.37
Perry 16 5,726 17.6% 54% 24.5% 17.4% 0.41
Pickaway 17 9,774 32.7% 13% 8.3% 13.8% 0.38
Pike 13 4,272 5.1% 92% 39.5% 23.7% 0.50
Portage 46 19,135 31.7% 20% 6.7% 11.2% 0.40
Preble 17 5,730 37.7% 0% 0.0% 13.5% 0.29
Putnam 22 5,958 24.8% 0% 0.0% 6.4% 0.25
Richland 44 17,561 27.3% 33% 15.8% 19.4% 0.39
Ross 24 10,077 27.1% 42% 15.6% 20.1% 0.36
Sandusky 19 8,308 39.8% 24% 8.3% 12.9% 0.45
Scioto 30 10,508 28.9% 41% 25.1% 21.0% 0.45
Seneca 18 5,463 41.3% 8% 0.8% 15.0% 0.36
Shelby 22 7,866 35.9% 0% 0.0% 12.4% 0.32
Stark 96 52,977 25.3% 38% 15.7% 15.1% 0.43
Summit 145 69,053 21.1% 45% 19.4% 20.0% 0.42
Trumbull 69 24,702 36.0% 22% 17.3% 25.4% 0.42
Tuscarawas 42 14,740 45.0% 3% 0.4% 16.6% 0.40
Union 19 12,429 19.8% 0% 0.0% 4.9% 0.30
Van Wert 13 4,304 42.8% 0% 0.0% 14.4% 0.32
Vinton 5 1,685 0.0% 100% 52.5% 25.6% 0.50
Warren 42 38,665 22.5% 0% 0.0% 5.7% 0.29
Washington 24 6,992 51.1% 0% 0.0% 15.4% 0.41
Wayne 44 14,067 40.5% 0% 0.0% 11.2% 0.34
Williams 14 5,064 35.5% 0% 0.0% 12.8% 0.29
Wood 36 18,696 26.4% 11% 6.5% 8.5% 0.32
Wyandot 9 3,319 36.8% 0% 0.0% 10.8% 0.36

Ohio school meals guide

How free and reduced-price school lunch eligibility works, application steps, and what to do if your child's school is not in CEP.

School meals guide

Summer meals

When the school year ends, NSLP and CEP stop. The Summer Food Service Program and Summer EBT fill the gap for the 456,268 children who rely on school meals in Ohio.

Summer meals guide

Families with children

SNAP, WIC, Head Start, and the full federal-program stack for households with kids — the assistance ecosystem around the school cafeteria.

Families guide

Ohio child poverty

The sibling atlas — county-level child poverty across Ohio. Free/reduced eligibility and child poverty track each other closely but not perfectly.

Ohio child poverty atlas

Ohio pantries

Verified food pantries, food banks, and meal programs across Ohio — open weeknights, weekends, and through the summer gap.

Ohio pantry directory

Methodology

How we aggregated NCES Common Core of Data school-level records to counties, proxied CEP from lunch_program == 2, and layered SAIPE school-age poverty — plus the access-score formula.

Full methodology