The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is a federal program that helps supplement the diets of low-income Americans, including elderly people, by providing them with emergency food assistance at no cost. With the launch of TEFAP, the U.S. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) would regularly purchase a variety of nutritious, high-quality foods, and make those foods available through State Distributing Agencies.
The amount of food each state receives out of the total amount of food provided is based on the number of unemployed persons and the number of people with incomes below the poverty level in the state. States provide the food to local agencies that they have selected, which in turn distribute the food to local organizations, such as soup kitchens and food pantries that directly serve the public.
You can visit www.fns.usda.gov/tefap/emergency-food-assistance-program for the kinds of food provided and additional information.
