USDA's Food and Nutrition Service was established to provide:

• needy people with access to a more nutritious diet
• improve the eating habits of the nation's children
• stabilize farm prices through the distribution of surplus foods

The Food Distribution Division at FNS Headquarters and Regional Offices work with State Distributing Agencies to determine the commodities available to the many different food assistance programs.

The mission of the Food Distribution Division is to strengthen the nutrition safety net through commodity distribution and other nutrition assistance to low-income families, emergency feeding programs, Indian Reservations, and the elderly.