As he campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination, Gov. John Kasich is touting his reputation as a compassionate conservative — someone who cares at least as much about vulnerable Americans as rich ones. When you compare Mr. Kasich to the rest of the GOP field, that description seems fair enough. But he could do more to affirm it.

The liberal advocacy group Policy Matters Ohio reports that the governor is refusing to enable thousands of working-poor adults in dozens of counties and cities — including Toledo — to qualify for broadened Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, commonly known as food stamps. Mr. Kasich’s reluctance not only places these Ohioans at risk of going hungry, it also sacrifices federal aid that would stimulate the economies of their home communities.

About 1.7 million Ohioans collect food stamps; benefits average about $1.40 a meal. Federal rules that govern the SNAP program impose time limits on eligibility for adults who aren’t old or disabled, or don’t have minor children.

Unless such recipients work at least 20 hours a week, they generally can get food stamps for just three months in a three-year period. But Washington routinely allows states to waive those limits for areas of high unemployment and struggling economies.

The governor appropriately plans such a waiver during the federal fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 for 18 Ohio counties, including Ottawa County. Most of these counties are rural and are still recovering slowly from the Great Recession. Yet as in the past two years, the new waiver is narrower than it could and should be.

Left out of the time-limit waiver are mostly urban counties and communities, even though more than two-thirds of Ohioans who receive food stamps live in metropolitan areas. Minorities also tend to reside in Ohio’s urban rather than rural communities; that disparity could cause the state to run the risk of civil rights litigation over the food-stamp waiver.

Kasich administration officials say their emphasis is on getting aid recipients into jobs or work training, and requiring them to display personal initiative to improve their lives. That’s as it should be.

But in urban as well as rural areas, a lack of appropriate employment opportunities, even low-wage work, can stymie the most motivated job seekers. They shouldn’t be penalized for circumstances beyond their control, especially in meeting their most basic needs, such as food.

Hunger and joblessness are neither exclusively urban nor rural problems; they afflict all parts of Ohio. The state’s food stamp waiver should reflect that reality, allowing Ohio to get the federal help it’s entitled to. That would be compassionate and conservative.

First Published August 30, 2015, 4:00 a.m.