Food-focused Columbus organization to close after nearly 20 years

A non-profit billed as a “pillar of the Central Ohio food justice movement” will cease operations in just a matter of days.

Local Matters, a local organization focused on food education and accessibility, will cease operations on June 6, the organization announced in a press release on Friday.

The press release said Local Matters, which has operated for the last 18 years, made the decision to close due to an “unstable funding environment that caused significant financial difficulties for the organization.” It cited cuts that came from the Big Beautiful Bill, a “shift in philanthropic attitudes” and more.

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 “No decision as a board has been harder than this one. We exhausted every option before arriving here — and that doesn’t make it hurt any less,” said Luka Papalko, Local Matters’ board chair in a press release. “The work was real, the impact was real and the loss is real. Local Matters meant everything to this community and to all of us who served it. Some organizations outlive their funding. Local Matters’ work will outlive its closure.”

The group, which is exploring the possibility of another entity acquiring the program according to a social media post, was founded in 2008 by Noreen Warnock and Michael Jones.

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