About
TEFAP
Welcome to The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) web site.
USDA
buys the food, including processing and packaging, and ships it to
the States. The amount received by each State depends on its
low-income and unemployed population. State
agencies work out details of administration and distribution. They select local organizations that either directly
distribute to households or serve meals, or distribute to other
local organizations that perform these functions.
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Commodity Distribution:
Under TEFAP, commodity foods are made available by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to
States. States provide the food to local agencies that they have selected, usually food
banks, which in turn, distribute the food to soup kitchens and food pantries that directly
serve the public.
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Households
that meet State eligibility criteria:
Each State sets criteria for determining what
households are eligible to receive food for home consumption.
Income standards may, at the State’s discretion, be
met through participation in other existing Federal, State, or
local food, health, or welfare programs for which eligibility
is based on income.
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Income
criteria:
States
can adjust the income criteria in order to ensure that
assistance is provided only to those households most in need. However, recipients of prepared meals are considered to
be needy and are not subject to a means test.
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More Program Facts about TEFAP. |
TEFAP is administered at the Federal level by the
Department of Agricultures Food and Nutrition
Service. State agencies receive the food and supervise overall distribution.
For more information
about TEFAP, please contact the State
Distributing Agency in your State that administers this
Program.
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Last Modified:
04/01/2008
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