The Emergency Food Assistance Program | Capital Area Food Bank
Skip to main content

Through the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), we’re able to provide our partners with USDA commodity food items at no cost, greatly increasing the amount of food that reaches our community.

What The Emergency Food Assistance Program Provides

The TEFAP program allows us to increase the amount of food we source. TEFAP items include a wide variety of shelf-stable products, as well as fresh foods such as milk, eggs, and proteins. The program is a vital part of hunger relief in our region and across the nation.

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) background and process

TEFAP operates through the combined efforts of federal, state, local government and non-governmental agencies to reach the individuals in a community who are the most in need. First, each year, all states are assigned a specified dollar amount of TEFAP food to “purchase” according to the number of their unemployed and low-income populations. Then, State Agencies partner with organizations such as the Capital Area Food Bank and its partners to distribute this food to address the needs of citizens. TEFAP, in addition to the other programs offered by the Capital Area Food Bank, helps alleviate food insecurity by being an additional assurance that individuals will not be hungry regardless of their current financial circumstances.

USDA Nondiscrimination Statement

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

  1. Mail:
    U.S. Department of Agriculture
    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
    1400 Independence Avenue, SW
    Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
  2. Fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442
  3. Email: program.intake@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Help people in need.

To deliver millions of meals a year to people in need across our region, we rely on community members like you. Every dollar you donate helps us provide 2.5 meals to people in need.

Donate