The Emergency Food Assistance Program: Implementation of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018

Through this rulemaking, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (the Department or USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is codifying new statutory requirements included in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill). First, the 2018 Farm Bill requires The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) State Plans, at the option of the State agency, to describe a plan of operation for projects to harvest, process, package, or transport donated commodities for use by TEFAP emergency feeding organizations (EFOs), also known as Farm to Food Bank Projects. Second, the Department is requiring TEFAP State agencies to amend their State Plans to describe a plan that provides EFOs or eligible recipient agencies (ERAs) within the State an opportunity to provide input on their commodity preferences and needs. Last, the Department is establishing the requirements for the projects to harvest, process, package, or transport donated commodities as authorized in the 2018 Farm Bill.