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History of TEFAP In December 1981, President Ronald Reagan authorized the release of surplus dairy products in government warehouses for distribution to needy households in an effort to reduce federal inventories and storage costs. For over a year, there was a relatively unrestricted giveaway of cheese, butter, and nonfat dry milk by public and private non-profit organizations. In 1983, Congress created the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) to give structure to the distributions. Administrative funds were provided to help distribute the food and minimal eligibility guidelines were imposed on families for its receipt. In its first five years, TEFAP successfully served its intended purpose of distributing large stores of government commodities. Although TEFAP began as a temporary program, intended to end when the surpluses ran out, people came to rely on the dietary supplements the program provided. In 1988, as the surpluses diminished, the federal government began providing funds to purchase food for TEFAP. In 1990, Congress acknowledged the ongoing need for the program and dropped the word "Temporary" from the program name, substituting "The" to maintain the same acronym.br> In subsequent years, TEFAP has continued to distribute government-purchased and surplus commodities, along with other donated food products. Administrative funds, allocated mostly to cover transportation and storage costs, have become crucial to the infrastructure of the emergency food network, and in many locales, particularly rural areas, may be the only money available to obtain, store, and distribute emergency food supplies.br> TEFAP commodities are frequently integrated with other donated items distributed by food pantries and food banks to supply a more complete meal package. TEFAP remains popular, in part, due to the minimal paperwork required. Eligibility forms are simple and contain only half a dozen questions or less, and self-declaration of income is common.br> The types of foods offered in the program have changed substantially over the years. In the early 1980’s, primarily surplus dairy and grain products (cheese, butter, flour, rice, etc.) were provided. As the surpluses diminished, Congress and anti-hunger advocates urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to buy a wider variety of more nutritious foods. As a result, the product mix now includes such items as orange juice, peanut butter, tuna, macaroni, and applesauce. Canned vegetables, canned and dried fruits, juices, and canned and frozen meats are also currently available to TEFAP. Moreover, TEFAP foods have been an important source of disaster relief, since they are readily available in most instances and packaged in sizes appropriate for household use. Following such catastrophic events as the January 1994 Northridge earthquake in Southern California and the 1998-1999 freeze in the California’s Central Valley, millions of pounds of food from the program were shipped to those areas for food assistance purposes. TEFAP foods, shipped from across the nation to the Gulf Coast, helped provide immediate assistance to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in August and September of 2005.br> In 1998, the authorization of the former Soup Kitchens/Food Banks (SK/FB) program was repealed and folded into TEFAP, and the expanded TEFAP was revised to incorporate and accommodate the organizations that participated in the SK/FB. Under the new program definitions, entities distributing TEFAP foods are known as either emergency feeding organizations (EFOs) or eligible recipient agencies (ERAs). Volunteers are essential to program operations. Although EFOs and ERAs get minimal funding for distribution (transportation and storage) costs and administrative duties, such as handling recipient applications, the hard work of loading, unloading, and handing out the food is often performed by volunteers. Tens of thousands of hours per month in volunteer time keep TEFAP operating smoothly and effectively. Although the nutritional quality of TEFAP foods has improved, especially as dairy surpluses were depleted and purchased items began to be included, the program provides only supplemental foods and does not presume to deliver a complete diet. In most places, only several TEFAP items per month are distributed. However, TEFAP is particularly important as a food source for low-income persons who cannot or will not access other food assistance programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. Since the federal law was changed in the mid-1980s to allow donated products to be shipped along with federal commodities, some states have aggressively pursued other donations to supplement TEFAP. For example, the California Department of Social Services’ "Donate, Don’t Dump" initiative annually collects and distributes tens of millions of pounds of fresh fruit in conjunction with TEFAP. The 2008 Farm Bill, approved in May 2008, increased permanent funding for TEFAP entitlement food to $250 million annually, beginning in fiscal year 2009. The authorization limit for TEFAP storage and distribution funds was also increased – to $100 million annually – in fiscal year 2009, but the funds are discretionary and annual appropriations have never even reached half that level. In February 2009, provisions for increasing both food and distribution funds for TEFAP were included in the government-wide economic stimulus package, which ultimately became known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Under ARRA, TEFAP received a two-year infusion of $100 million to purchase more food and $50 million to distribute it. Of the distribution funding, USDA allocated $25 million in fiscal year 2009 and $25 million in fiscal 2010). These amounts supplemented the $250 million in entitlement foods and $49.5 million in distribution funding appropriated by Congress for TEFAP in federal fiscal years 2009 and 2010. Consequently, both food and funds for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) reached all-time record levels in fiscal year 2009, in response to growing numbers of food insecure households nationwide. With a significant boost from the ARRA, USDA reported it provided more than 851 million pounds of food valued at $704 million to TEFAP that year. Food going into TEFAP in fiscal year 2009 included 421.9 million pounds of entitlement commodities, purchased with both regularly appropriated and ARRA funds, and 429.7 million pounds of bonus items – the largest totals ever in both categories. However, there is no guarantee that similar poundage will be available in fiscal year 2011 or beyond. The ARRA authority for an additional $100 million in TEFAP food is expiring, and bonus purchases – always unpredictable – have begun to slow. Moreover, the allocation for TEFAP entitlement foods, set at $250 million per year in the 2008 Farm Bill, but tied to food prices, will see another small decline, from $248.5 million in fiscal 2010 to an estimated $246.5 million in fiscal year 2011, as grocery prices continue to drop. Furthermore, surplus dairy products, in plentiful supply in 2009 as TEFAP bonus, have found other markets. USDA and Congress are initiating hearings on the 2012 Farm Bill, which will give legislators and advocates an opportunity to adjust TEFAP authorization language. For more information on TEFAP in the 2012 Farm Bill, see the “Legislation” [link] page of this web site. ___________ Foodlinks America is published 24 times a year by California Emergency Foodlink and distributed by Weinberg & Vauthier Consulting, 6412 CR 116, Burnet, Texas 78611; Zy Weinberg and Barbara Vauthier, Editors; email: bvauthier@tefapalliance.org. ___________ Site Hosted : 2006-2010 by Server Logistics Los Angelos, CA Site Construction : 2006-2010 - Mike Vauthier mvauthier@texastortillafactory.com |