FY 2025 Commodity Credit Corporation TEFAP Funding

This memorandum provides information about the approximately $500 million in additional support for emergency food programs that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 under the statutory authority of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act for distribution through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). CCC funding will help emergency food organizations as they continue to deal with supply chain challenges and elevated food costs by supporting food purchases and TEFAP eligible recipient agencies’ (ERAs’)¹ operational costs for the storage and distribution of the additional food purchases. The CCC funds are being offered in addition to TEFAP entitlement foods, bonus foods, and TEFAP administrative funds.

The majority of the $500 million in TEFAP resources provided through CCC will support the purchase of USDA Foods for distribution through TEFAP. USDA anticipates offering a variety of USDA Foods acceptable to state agencies’ emergency food programs. USDA expects to make the first ordering catalogs available to state agencies this fall and anticipates the first deliveries for this allocation to begin early in calendar year 2025.

A portion of the FY 2025 CCC funding will be available to support TEFAP ERAs’ operational expenses associated with the USDA Foods purchased with CCC funds (CCC USDA Foods). While USDA will distribute the CCC funds for operational costs to state agencies, state agencies must pass through 100 percent of these funds to ERAs and cannot retain any funds for use at the state level. The allowable uses of this operational funding (referred to as “ERA operational funds”) are detailed in Attachment A, Conditions for Funds Available for the Storage and Distribution of CCC FY 2025 funds.

The operational funding is being provided to state agencies in the contiguous United States in the amount of $3,000 per truck of CCC USDA Foods ordered to distribute further to ERAs. Funding is being provided to noncontiguous states and U.S. Territories administering TEFAP, to be distributed further to ERAs, in the amount of $4,000 per truck of CCC USDA Foods ordered to account for the increased costs of storage and distribution. The additional USDA Foods will be offered in fair share quantities to TEFAP state agencies through multiple phases, for distribution through TEFAP ERAs.

ERA operational funding will be provided in multiple phases, corresponding to the food ordering phases. The first offer of ERA operational funding will be provided following the closure of the first food ordering phase, which is expected to close in late December 2024. Following the receipt of the amount of the first offering, to receive the ERA operational funds state agencies must sign the attached agreement (Attachment B) and return it to their respective FNS regional office with the total amount they choose to accept after receipt of the allocations, which are forthcoming. A state agency’s acceptance of all or a part of these funds indicated by the signed agreement (Attachment B) will serve as acknowledgment of, and agreement with, the conditions outlined in Attachment A, which includes information about allowable uses, the period of performance, reporting and recordkeeping requirements, and oversight responsibilities.

Additional information regarding the first phase amounts of ERA operational funds and the date to return the signed agreement will be forthcoming.

USDA appreciates the commitment of TEFAP state agencies to emergency feeding efforts and looks forward to continued partnership as additional funds are provided through the CCC.

Attachments

• Attachment A - Conditions for Funds Available for the Storage and Distribution of CCC - TEFAP USDA Foods in FY 2025
• Attachment B - Sample Agreement Only
   

Footnote

¹ TEFAP ERAs are generally private nonprofit entities as defined in 7 CFR 251.3(d).