FNS Documents & Resources

Electronic Benefits Transfer is an electronic system that allows a SNAP participant to pay for food using SNAP benefits. When a participant shops at a SNAP authorized retail store, their SNAP EBT account is debited to reimburse the store for food that was purchased. EBT is in use in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam.

As part of the WIC innovation and modernization efforts to be funded under ARPA, FNS is supporting planning and implementation projects focused on enhancements that improve the WIC participant experience, as evidenced by enhancing the WIC shopping experience, increasing participant enrollment, reducing unnecessary administrative burden for both participants and administrators, including through data matching to streamline enrollment, and retaining eligible participants while improving equity

This information collection is mandated by section 231 of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Section 231 of the HHFKA requires USDA to implement a program to recognize exemplary breastfeeding support practices at WIC local agencies and clinics.

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will discontinue the requirement for vendors to use high security seals to secure USDA Foods deliveries as of July 1, 2023. 

These questions and answers provide more information about the USDA Foods Database for states/school districts.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provided USDA with $390 million, available through FY 2024, to carry out outreach, innovation, and program modernization efforts to increase participation and redemption of benefits for both the WIC program and the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program.

This webinar provided state agencies and school districts instructions on how to navigate the USDA Foods Database to access vendor-specific product information, including nutrients, allergens, ingredients and certifications.

The FNS State Systems team has produced a series of training presentations designed to help state agencies understand and comply with the FNS approval process. These eight on-line presentations correspond to FNS Handbook 901, with information on the key documents or phases in the process.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (the Act), PL 111-296, established a new reporting requirement for the WIC Program. USDA is now mandated to compile and publish annually, breastfeeding performance measurements based on program participant data on the number of partially and fully breastfed infants for each WIC state and local agency.