At Mid-Ohio Food Collective, conversations about ending hunger are about much more than food.
Neighbors bring up transportation, childcare costs, healthcare access, cost of living, housing, public benefits, and more. As staff within the organization processed these conversations, they saw the deeply rooted connections between the challenges families in their service area were facing, and the way they were all shaped by policy decisions at all levels of government.
That realization, in light of Mid-Ohio Food Collective’s (MOFC) mission, led them to refine their strategy. If ending hunger meant addressing its root causes, then civic engagement had to be part of the conversation too. Supporting their community to advocate for what MOFC calls “upstream solutions” to hunger at the ballot box was tantamount to the long-term success of their mission.
But where does an organization focused on mitigating food insecurity start with something like civic engagement? As MOFC was the first to admit, starting small helped them find their footing. Staff incorporated nonpartisan voter engagement into places where they were already connecting with the community: Mid-Ohio Markets, neighborhood-based programs, and food distributions run alongside hundreds of community partners. Using existing infrastructure, they provided access to nonpartisan information and support to ensure the people they served were prepared to participate in the decisions that affected their lives.
Partnership with Nonprofit VOTE helped MOFC strengthen and formalize the integration of civic engagement to their work. Rather than overwhelming staff or creating entirely new systems, embedding civic engagement into existing offerings became another way to support and empower the communities they already served. As the organization expanded its efforts, Nonprofit VOTE provided trainings, toolkits, election resources, and guidance on how nonprofits can engage communities confidently while remaining nonpartisan.
One of the biggest benefits of our partnership, they say, was clarity.
MOFC relies heavily on data to understand where hunger exists across its service area and how it overlaps with and compounds challenges like transportation barriers, health disparities, and economic instability. Just as importantly, they pair that data with lived experience.
Their belief in the value of heeding the lived experience of their community shapes MOFC’s approach to civic engagement. Rather than expecting people to seek out information on their own, they bring opportunities directly into trusted spaces where neighbors already gather. Whether that’s a market, a partner distribution site, or another community setting, the goal is to seamlessly make participation in civic life feel relevant and accessible.
“We believe the people closest to the challenges are often closest to the solutions.”
And one of the most surprising lessons? How eager people are to engage when given the opportunity. Contrary to the common misconception that people facing food insecurity are tapped out of public life, MOFC has found their customers are eager to make their voices heard on issues that are front and center in their lives—when given the information and support they need. When community members are empowered as leaders in their own community, rather than just recipients of services, the connection between tackling systemic challenges and civic participation grows stronger, and action follows.
For organizations that are hesitant to get involved, MOFCs advice is simple: start small.
“Sharing election information, hosting a voter registration table, or partnering with organizations that already have expertise in the space can be enough to get started. Over time, those efforts can grow into something larger.”
For MOFC, civic engagement ultimately comes back to the same principle that drives its work to end hunger. The people experiencing challenges every day bring knowledge, perspective, and solutions that deserve to be part of the conversation.
