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
Funding is the act of providing resources to finance a need, program, or project. While this is usually in the form of money, it can also take the form of effort or time from an organization or company. Generally, this word is used when a firm use ...
and
commodity
In economics, a commodity is an economic good, usually a resource, that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them.
The price of a co ...
donation
A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as ...
s from excess
Commodity Credit Corporation
The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is a wholly owned United States government corporation that was created in 1933 to "stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices" (federally chartered by the CCC Charter Act of 1948 (P.L. 80-806) ...
(CCC) inventories of
foodstuffs for
food distribution
Food distribution is the process where a general population is supplied with food. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) considers food distribution as a subset of the food system. The process and methodology behind food distribution varies ...
by
emergency feeding organizations serving the needy and
homeless
Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are:
* living on the streets, also kn ...
(7 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.). It subsequently was amended in 1985, 1988, 1990, 1996 and 2002 under the 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, Sec. 4126, Sec. 4204). This is the
Emergency Food Assistance and Soup Kitchen-Food Bank Program.
The law authorizes funding through FY2007 to buy and donate commodities and to provide grants to cover the state and local costs of transporting, storing, and distributing these commodities to emergency feeding organizations,
soup kitchen
A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center, is a place where food is offered to the hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price (such as via coin donations upon visiting). Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, soup ...
s, and
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 direct ...
s serving low-income persons. In addition to
discretionary funds authorized to be appropriated by this law, there is a requirement that $100 million of
food stamp appropriations be used annually to buy commodities for emergency feeding organizations.
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 federal agriculture legislation
United States federal welfare and public assistance legislation