County Executive Ilene Shapiro

You don't want to miss this. Register here: eventbrite.com/e/senior-summi…

💐 Spring is here, and that means it's almost time for the Senior Summit! This year's FREE Senior Summit Expo takes place on Wednesday, May 6 from 9am to 2pm at St. George's Fellowship Hall (3204 Ridgewood Rd, Fairlawn). The first 300 registrants receive a free lunch!

St. Patrick's Day may be over, but your luck at Summit County Animal Control hasn't run out! ☘️ Through the end of March, dog adoption fees have been reduced to $28—includes microchipping, spay/neuter, vaccinations, intestinal de-worming, and a 2026 Summit County Dog License!

‼️ Income-qualified residents in owner-occupied homes or rental properties in ANY #SummitCounty community may be eligible for insulation, air sealing, or a new furnace or hot water tank through our Home Weatherization Assistance Program. 🔗tinyurl.com/HWAP26 ☎️330-643-2537

MKV Polymer Inc. held an open house last week at their Bounce Innovation Hug location which opened in January. Based in Germany, MKV's participation in the Polymer Industry Cluster is their first foray into the USA market. Welcome to #SummitCounty! ♻️🧪

You will receive a reminder text every 3 months prompting you to report any changes and upload verification documents—straight from your phone.

To opt-in to receive these text messages, call 1-844-640-6446. When prompted, enter your SSN and DOB to authenticate your identify. After you hear your benefits summary, press 2 to sign-up. Follow the voice prompts to enter your phone number and sign-up for SMS texts.

SNAP text reminders are a NEW feature from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services! JFS clients can opt-in to receive text message reminders to report changes, upload verification documents, and keep your case up-to-date to prevent any lapse in benefits.

Attend the FREE Reentry Clinic at House of the Lord (1650 Diagonal Rd, Akron) this Saturday, March 14 at 9:00am. Have questions? Reach out to the clinic at 330-972-7751. Leave a message and they will return your call.

Also in Oct. 2025, Ohio requested a waiver to allow SNAP participants to purchase "hot, prepared, non-breaded, non-fried chicken"—such as rotisserie chickens—with SNAP benefits. Under current law, these items are not able to be purchased with benefits.

Starting October 1, 2026, SNAP participants will be prohibited from buying beverages that list sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, or similar caloric sweeteners as the primary ingredient, or as the second ingredient if the first ingredient is carbonated water.

In October 2025, Governor DeWine's office requested a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ban the purchase of soda and sugary drinks with SNAP benefits. As of March 4, 2026, the USDA approved Ohio's request.

It may be foggy this morning, but more sun is on the way! ☀ Don't forget to set your clocks forward 1 hour Saturday evening for the start of Daylight Savings Time! 🕑🌇

• Online Self-Service Portal at ssp.benefits.ohio.gov • Fax documents to (866) 351-8292 • Email PDFs to summite-docs@jfs.ohio.gov • Drop Box at 1180 S Main St, Akron, 44301

To avoid high call wait times, we encourage residents to utilize other available optioons, if possible. Residents can apply for/review benefits, and submit documentation and verifications (including applications, rent receipts, utility bills, and pay stubs) at the following:

We are also in contact with the State of Ohio about how to improve the phone system that they manage which we are required to use. We do apologize for the delay and understand your frustration.

Our staff is working diligently to answer as many calls in a day as possible, but we are receiving hundreds of calls over our capacity every day. We encourage folks to schedule a call back if possible.

Unfortunately, Summit County Job and Family Services is experiencing a significant influx of calls due to implementation of new federal regulations & work requirements.

Stop by Animal Control (250 Opportunity Pkwy, Akron) & make our dogs the luckiest pups in Summit County! Hours are Monday-Friday: 10am-6:00pm, Saturdays 12pm-3pm, and Sundays 1pm-3pm. Browse adoptable dogs at: #nav-custom2" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">co.summitoh.net/departments/Di…

You Lucky Dog! 🍀🐾 Through March 31, adoption fees at Summit County Animal Control are reduced to $28! That includes microchipping, spay/neuter, vaccinations, intestinal de-worming, AND a 2026 Summit County Dog License!