Marion County's 2008 poverty rate of 19.4 percent represents a jump of more than half in only two years for the county of 66,396 people about an hour north of Columbus.

New statewide figures from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey show that 13.4 percent of Ohioans were living in poverty in 2008, up slightly from the previous year and just above the national average of 13.2 percent.

Still, poverty holds a fierce grip on Ohio, particularly in the state's urban centers.

Of America's top 10 poorest cities, three are in Ohio -- Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo. No other state had more than one.

Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks, said the poverty level is almost certainly worse than the numbers indicate because the statistics are for 2008, and things have gotten only worse this year.

"Ohioans are getting poorer every day," she said. "We know, from our food pantries, it has gotten worse day after day, week after week."

Ohio is in "a race to the bottom," Hamler-Fugitt said.

In Marion, the Salvation Army is struggling to keep up with increased demand at its pantry and soup kitchen. Appointments to visit the pantry this week were booked by noon Monday.

Spokeswoman Sheryl Simmons said the food pantry served 1,020 individuals in August, double the number the same month a year ago.

"We've had several companies shut down or lay off people for periods of time, so we're seeing people who have never sought help before," Simmons said.

As of Aug. 31, the Salvation Army had served 410 first-time clients this year. In all of 2008, there were 468 individuals seeking help for the first time.

"Families are hurting, and many (who are working) are living paycheck to paycheck. It doesn't take much to throw them," Simmons said.

The census numbers do not include job losses the county suffered this year, including 300 positions that vanished when the Marion Juvenile Correctional Facility closed July 1.

According to the census report, 19.4 percent of Marion County residents were living in poverty in 2008, up from 15.7 percent in 2007 and 11.9 percent in 2006. The poverty threshold is about $18,000 a year for a family of three and $22,000 for a family of four.

The survey measures counties with at least 65,000 population, meaning virtually all of Ohio's Appalachian counties are not included.

Poverty in Franklin County actually dropped to 15 percent from 16.3 percent in both 2007 and 2006.

The new face of poverty is also evident in Ohio's community health clinics.

"We're seeing a different wave of people using our health centers as the recession hits people in the middle class who have recently lost their jobs," said Julie DiRossi-King, director of state government affairs for the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers.

The 36 health centers with more than 150 sites in 45 Ohio counties served more than 420,000 patients last year.

"Nothing's going positive, that's for sure," said Bob Garbo, executive director of the Athens-Hocking-Perry County Community Action Agency.

He said poverty is a much more complex problem today than it was when the war on poverty began in the 1960s.

"We're well beyond giving someone a GED. It's well beyond any one program. These problems are caused by so many different things."

ccandisky@dispatch.com
ajohnson@dispatch.com