FNS Documents & Resources

This notice announces the surplus and purchased foods that the department expects to make available for donation to states for use in providing nutrition assistance to the needy under The Emergency Food Assistance Program in fiscal year 2023. 

This is a revision to a currently approved collection, to prevent a lapse in OMB approval of data collection. This collection allows for Food Distribution Programs, such as the National School Lunch Program, the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, and The Emergency Food Assistance Program, to run effectively.

This agenda provides summary descriptions of significant and not significant regulations being developed in FNS.

FNS requires states agencies to issue a warning notice to withhold replacement electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards or a warning notice for excessive EBT card replacements for individual members of a SNAP household requesting four EBT cards in a 12-month period. These notices are being issued to educate SNAP recipients on use of the EBT card and to deter fraudulent activity.

State agencies are required to operate a SNAP E&T program and have considerable flexibility to determine the services they offer and populations they serve. FNS seeks to ensure the quality of the services and activities offered through SNAP E&T programs by investing resources and providing technical assistance to help states build capacity, create more robust services, and increase engagement in their programs.

The LEP study will provide FNS with actionable insights about how states and territories operate language access policies and requirements. The study will gather detailed data from all 53 state SNAP agencies via a web-based survey, the three territories that operate NAP via in-depth interviews, and will conduct case studies in four states. The study will provide FNS with a comprehensive summary of findings on policies and practices related to LEP access.

Through this data collection effort, FNS seeks to understand the interrelated factors that lead to household food insecurity. Data will be collected in six counties experiencing persistent intergenerational poverty through a study titled Understanding the Relationship Between Poverty, Well-Being, and Food Security.

The Workload Management Matrix provides an overview of available state options, process improvements and administrative and demonstration waivers state agencies may implement to help manage their workload. The strategies in this tool vary in cost and complexity, giving states the option to choose the policy or procedure that addresses their unique circumstances. This updated resource (first shared in 2013) reflects regulatory changes since the first iteration as well as additional tactics state agencies may wish to consider.

The fiscal year 2023 TEFAP funding memorandum provides guidance on full-year FY 2023 TEFAP food and administrative funding allocations.

Under the statutory authority of the Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA is providing approximately $1.5 billion in additional support for emergency food programs to address supply chain challenges and elevated food costs.