Provides
emergency nutrition assistance to low-income Americans,
including the elderly and homeless.
Supplies
food to the States, which distribute it to local agencies.
Local agencies – which typically include food banks, food
pantries, and soup kitchens – then provide the food to the
public, either for household consumption or through
congregate feeding sites. States also receive administrative
funds to help store and distribute donated commodities.
The
amount of food received by each State depends on its
population of unemployed persons and persons with incomes
below the poverty level.
Background
The
program was first authorized as the Temporary Emergency Food
Assistance Program in 1981 to distribute surplus commodities
to households.
The
Hunger Prevention Act of 1988 authorized funding for the
Secretary of Agriculture not only to distribute surplus
foods, but also to purchase additional foods needed for
distribution.
The name
was changed to The Emergency Food Assistance Program under
the 1990 Farm Bill.
Participants
Each
State sets its own income limits for household eligibility.
No income test is applied to people who receive meals at
congregate feeding sites such as soup kitchens or homeless
shelters.
653
million pounds of food (including bonus food) was
distributed through food pantries, emergency kitchens, and
other emergency food providers in FY 2009.
Budget
$190
million for food and $49.65 million for administrative costs
appropriated in FY 2008.
$250
million for food and $49.5 million for administrative costs
appropriated in FY 2009.
Contact Information
For more
information, visit
www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/programs/tefap or contact
your State agency that administers the TEFAP. View Agency
listings under “State DA Contacts.”
