The Emergency Food Assistance and Soup Kitchen-Food Bank Program (EFAP-Soup Kitchens) provides

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...

(USDA) commodities to

emergency feeding An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...

organizations to help with the food needs of low-income populations. It also authorizes grants to states to help with the state and local costs of transporting, storing, and distributing the commodities to the appropriate local agencies and organizations. The program is authorized under the

Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 The Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (P.L. 98-92) amended the original Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (P.L. 98-8) to authorize multi-year funding and commodity donations from excess Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) invent ...

(P.L. 98-92, as amended; 7 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.). In addition to authorizing funding to buy commodities, the program also requires specifically that $100 million of food stamp funds be used annually for that purpose. Eligible agencies include

food bank A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food direc ...

s, food pantries,

soup kitchen A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center, is a place where food is offered to the Hunger, hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price (such as via coin donations upon visiting). Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoo ...

s, and public and private charitable agencies serving the poor. States determine the agencies eligible to participate and set low-income standards for eligibility.

References

*{{CRS, article = Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition, url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110810044532/http://ncseonline.org/nle/crsreports/05jun/97-905.pdf, author= Jasper Womach United States Department of Agriculture programs Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Food banks in the United States