The
Food and Nutrition
Service (FNS), formerly
known as the Food and
Consumer Service,
administers the
nutrition assistance
programs of the U.S.
Department of
Agriculture. The mission
of FNS is to provide
children and needy
families better access
to food and a more
healthful diet through
its food assistance
programs and
comprehensive nutrition
education efforts.
FNS has elevated
nutrition and
nutrition
education to a
top priority in
all its
programs. In
addition to
providing access
to nutritious
food, FNS also
works to empower
program
participants
with knowledge
of the link
between diet and
health.
The agency was
established Aug.
8, 1969, but
many of the food
programs
originated long
before FNS
existed as a
separate agency.
The Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program
(formerly the Food Stamp
Program), now the
cornerstone of
USDA's nutrition
assistance,
began in its
modern form in
1961, but it had
its origins in
the Food Stamp
Plan to help the
needy in the
1930's. The
National School
Lunch Program
also has its
roots in
Depression-era
efforts to help
low-income
children. The
Needy Family
Program, which
has evolved into
the Food
Distribution
Program on
Indian
Reservations,
was the primary
means of food
assistance
during the Great
Depression.
FNS works in
partnership with
the States in
all its
programs. States
determine most
administrative
details
regarding
distribution of
food benefits
and eligibility
of participants,
and FNS provides
funding to cover
most of the
States'
administrative
costs.
Congress
appropriated
$37.9 billion
for FNS programs
in Fiscal Year
2002. By
comparison, FNS
programs cost
$1.6 billion in
1970, the first
full year of the
agency's
operation.
Last Modified:
11/13/2008
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