Agencies In North Carolina Will Receive $3.9 Million To Feed, Shelter Homeless 

Release Date: January 8, 2002
Release Number: R4-02-08

Atlanta, GA -Victims of non-disaster emergencies in North Carolina will be able to receive help because of $3,974,230 from the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) for fiscal year 2002.

"This money will help people with non-disaster related economic emergencies so they will not become homeless or go hungry," said Kenneth O. Burris, Jr., regional director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Region IV office in Atlanta. "The program is one of the best examples of a public/private partnership working to help people who truly need help."

Each year the Emergency Food and Shelter Program National Board develops a formula for distributing the funds based on the national unemployment and poverty rates. The EFSP National Board is composed of representatives from the Salvation Army, American Red Cross, Catholic Charities USA, Council of Jewish Federations, The United Way, and The National Council of Churches. A representative from the Federal Emergency Management Agency chairs the National Board.

A local board in each county or city jurisdiction receiving EFSP funds determines how they will be spent. This may include such things as providing food, in the form of served meals or groceries; lodging in a mass shelter or hotel; one month's rent or mortgage payment; one month's utility bill; or minimal repairs to allow a mass feeding or sheltering facility to function during the program year. Except for the chairmanship, the composition of the local board mirrors the National Board.

This year's federal allocation for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program is $141.5 million. Since the program's inception in 1983, Congress has appropriated more than $2 billion to help people in non-disaster emergencies.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Detailed information, including a breakdown of funding allocations, is available online from the EFSP National Board Web site at www.efsp.unitedway.org.

Last Modified: Wednesday, 27-Aug-2003 12:13:51