USDA Announces Healthy Food Distribution to Poor
A coordinator of the government-sponsored The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) at Harvesters food bank in Kansas City was pleased to learn that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be distributing a large quantity of produce. The USDA announced the distribution of $126 million of produce, including tart cherries, blueberries, raisins, fresh tomatoes, among other items.
She indicated getting this food in the emergency assistance channel is welcome news, given the "feast or famine" nature of getting quality food to the 50-plus area agencies in Missouri participating in TEFAP throughout the year.
What follows is background on TEFAP as an important public poverty relief program.
TEFAP is administered through states and benefits unemployed and low-income people. People that receive the food are eligible for TEFAP based on income standards set by the states. The food is distributed in Missouri and Kansas at food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters, predominantly by food banks such as Harvesters. The USDA purchases food, mainly consisting of fruits, vegetables, juice, eggs, meat, poultry, fish, grains, beans, milk, as well as packaged and processed food like soups and pasta.
The announcement represents good news for people recently dropped from unemployment benefit rolls last month.
TEFAP food distributed mainly to food banks represent 17% of what food banks distribute to pantries and kitchens nationwide, so it's an important channel of healthy food. This is especially important given how private food donations have decreased in the past few years. The program may not have strong support in those institutions or communities opposed to public support for food assistance, but because TEFAP distributes food directly to eligible participants instead of providing a cash benefit there's likely less individual SNAP fraud involved as documented recently in the Kansas City Star.
Why food programs like TEFAP are important during economically-distressed times.
The TEFAP program, unlike SNAP/food stamps, on average distributes a healthier selection of food because it limits the types of food items, thus providing more nutritious food based on the Healthy Eating Index (pdf). All USDA products are American grown, which benefits area farmers.
Further, TEFAP administrative rules require that food banks not add handling fees to food distributed to agencies (pantries and kitchens), but provide funds for food banks to store, re-package and distribute the food. These adminstrative funds to food banks, thus reduce the burden on those agencies.
TEFAP benefits individuals who have significant barriers to maintaining a healthy, nutritious diet due to a loss of income due to job or the inability to make ends meet due to an illness or other catastrophic events. People who seek food assistance through public programs like TEFAP and SNAP are more likely to have less education, and are more likely to be a woman heading the household, an African-American or Hispanic, as well as be living on less than $1000 per month. The lack of affordable childcare, job training and education, exacerbates the ability for low-income people to feed their families.
She indicated getting this food in the emergency assistance channel is welcome news, given the "feast or famine" nature of getting quality food to the 50-plus area agencies in Missouri participating in TEFAP throughout the year.
What follows is background on TEFAP as an important public poverty relief program.
TEFAP is administered through states and benefits unemployed and low-income people. People that receive the food are eligible for TEFAP based on income standards set by the states. The food is distributed in Missouri and Kansas at food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters, predominantly by food banks such as Harvesters. The USDA purchases food, mainly consisting of fruits, vegetables, juice, eggs, meat, poultry, fish, grains, beans, milk, as well as packaged and processed food like soups and pasta.
The announcement represents good news for people recently dropped from unemployment benefit rolls last month.
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| Chart: Feeding America |
Why food programs like TEFAP are important during economically-distressed times.
The TEFAP program, unlike SNAP/food stamps, on average distributes a healthier selection of food because it limits the types of food items, thus providing more nutritious food based on the Healthy Eating Index (pdf). All USDA products are American grown, which benefits area farmers.
Further, TEFAP administrative rules require that food banks not add handling fees to food distributed to agencies (pantries and kitchens), but provide funds for food banks to store, re-package and distribute the food. These adminstrative funds to food banks, thus reduce the burden on those agencies.
TEFAP benefits individuals who have significant barriers to maintaining a healthy, nutritious diet due to a loss of income due to job or the inability to make ends meet due to an illness or other catastrophic events. People who seek food assistance through public programs like TEFAP and SNAP are more likely to have less education, and are more likely to be a woman heading the household, an African-American or Hispanic, as well as be living on less than $1000 per month. The lack of affordable childcare, job training and education, exacerbates the ability for low-income people to feed their families.
While TEFAP may not directly encourage individuals to organize community-based solutions to poverty, it does provide public support for quality nutritious food to people in need. U.S. legislators who have proposed cuts to SNAP and TEFAP funding in the Farm Bill should focus on extending these benefits.
As Nick Saul and Andrea Curtis emphasized in their book The Stop: How the Fight for Good Food Transformed a Community and Inspired a Movement, it shows how "important political will is to advancing an issue like fighting hunger and poverty. We need engaged citizens and progressive organizations who will put politicians' feet to the fire and make it impossible to ignore the needs of low-income people..."
As Nick Saul and Andrea Curtis emphasized in their book The Stop: How the Fight for Good Food Transformed a Community and Inspired a Movement, it shows how "important political will is to advancing an issue like fighting hunger and poverty. We need engaged citizens and progressive organizations who will put politicians' feet to the fire and make it impossible to ignore the needs of low-income people..."
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