FNS Documents & Resources

Through the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, FNS is able to quickly offer short-term food assistance benefits to families suffering in the wake of a disaster.

FNS plays a vital role in providing supplemental nutrition assistance when disasters occur by coordinating with state, local, and voluntary organizations to: (1) provide food for shelters and other mass feeding sites, (2) distribute food packages directly to households in specific situations, (3) offer flexibility in nutrition assistance programs’ design and administration to continue providing benefits to participants in need, and (4) approve eligible states’ requests to operate a Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

This fact sheet is for using USDA Food during a human pandemic outbreak.

USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) supplies USDA Foods to disaster relief organizations such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army for congregate feeding or househole distribution.