Mid-Ohio Food Collective, formerly the Mid-Ohio Foodbank, is Ohio’s largest food bank. From its Grove City base it covers 20 central Ohio counties through more than 600 partner agencies, providing food for roughly 155,000 meals a day. Matt Habash has led it for more than four decades and announced he will retire at the end of 2026, with the board running a national search for his successor. Columbus has been one of the fastest-growing large cities in the Midwest, and need has grown with it.
Mid-Ohio sources food at scale and distributes it through more than 600 partner agencies across 20 counties, adding up to roughly 155,000 meals a day. The rebrand from Foodbank to Food Collective signaled its broader approach: alongside food, it runs markets, farms, a kitchen, and services that connect people to health care, benefits, and job support, treating hunger as one part of a larger set of needs.
Matt Habash became executive director of the then Mid-Ohio Foodbank in 1984, when it distributed about three million pounds of food a year, and built it into Ohio’s largest food bank over more than four decades. He has been recognized nationally, including as a Food Bank CEO of the Year. He announced he will retire at the end of 2026, and the board has engaged a national search firm to find the next leader.
The 20-county service area centers on Columbus, one of the fastest-growing large cities in the Midwest. That growth has not reached everyone, and need extends from the city into surrounding suburban and rural counties. The Food Collective covers all of it from its central Ohio base.
Yes. Mid-Ohio Food Collective is a registered 501(c)(3) and a Feeding America member. Donors can review its financials through Charity Navigator and GuideStar. Bulk buying and donated food mean a gift converts into many meals.
Donations and volunteer shifts run through mofc.org. Volunteers help across the warehouse, markets, and farms, and cash gifts go furthest because of the organization’s purchasing power.
Mid-Ohio Food Collective is the largest food bank in Ohio, covering central Ohio. The Greater Cleveland Food Bank serves the northeast, and Freestore Foodbank serves the Cincinnati region in the southwest. For anyone in the Columbus area or central Ohio, Mid-Ohio is the lead organization.
600+ agencies across 20 counties receive food.
Choice-style food markets and on-site farming for fresh produce.
Services linking food to health care and benefits.
Training that addresses a cause of food insecurity.
Sources: Mid-Ohio Food Collective website (mofc.org), and 2026 reporting from WOSU, NBC4, and Food Bank News on Matt Habash’s retirement and the CEO search. We are not affiliated with Mid-Ohio Food Collective and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
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