This memorandum announces the availability of $8 million for TEFAP Farm to Food Bank projects in fiscal year 2026 and provides guidance to TEFAP state agencies on how to submit TEFAP state plan amendments to implement FY 2026 projects.
This notice sets forth the interpretation that the U.S. Department of Agriculture uses for the term “Federal public benefit” as used in Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. In doing so, this notice supersedes any prior interpretation in any notice or other document issued by any USDA agency. This notice also describes and preliminarily identifies the USDA programs that provide “Federal public benefits” within the scope of PRWORA.
The purpose of Farm to Food Bank Projects is to (a) reduce food waste at the agricultural production, processing, or distribution level through the donation of food, (b) provide food to individuals in need, and (c) build relationships between agricultural producers, processors, and distributors and emergency feeding organizations through the donation of food.
The purpose of this funding guidance memo is to allocate funding for Farm to Food Bank Projects in FY 2024.
This data shows the percentage of TEFAP administrative funds passed through from state agencies to emergency feeding organizations in fiscal year 2022.
FNS requires that inventories do not exceed a six-month supply of any USDA Foods without approval from FNS. Per 7 CFR 250.17(a), state agencies administering TEFAP are required to use Form FNS-155, Inventory Management Register, to report any food items in state and state-contracted warehouses that exceed six months of inventory.
During the inaugural year of Farm to Food Bank Project funding, FNS allocated $3,752,000 amongst the 19 TEFAP state agencies that submitted plans to implement Farm to Food Bank Projects. These 19 state agencies are identified in this resource.
Under the statutory authority of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the USDA is administering a second year of the Trade Mitigation Food Purchase and Distribution Program, now known as the Food Purchase Distribution Program, to purchase up to $1.4 billion of FPDP foods.
Under the statutory authority of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the USDA is administering a Trade Mitigation Food Purchase and Distribution Program to purchase up to $1.2 billion in USDA Foods.
This TEFAP program guidance explains that TEFAP commodities can be used for demonstration purposes in accordance with current regulations.