Looking for food assistance? What you need to know about TEFAP

Looking for food assistance? What to know about TEFAP

You may have seen posts on social media recommending people turn to another USDA food program called TEFAP for food assistance. But what you need to know is that TEFAP doesn’t work the same way as SNAP benefits.

HOUSTON - While two federal judges have ruled that the Trump administration must make at least partial payments to fund SNAP benefits this month, it's not clear yet when millions of families will receive their benefits.

You may have seen posts on social media recommending people turn to another USDA food program called TEFAP for food assistance.  But what you need to know is that TEFAP doesn’t work the same way as SNAP benefits.

What is TEFAP?

Big picture view:

TEFAP is The Emergency Food Assistance Program, a federal program that provides food to low-income Americans.  But it provides food through local food banks, soup kitchens, and pantries. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture buys food from farmers, such as fruits, vegetables, and grains, and distributes it to states. States pass the food to local agencies, which in turn, provide the food to people in need.

Eligibility for food for home consumption depends on state-specific income guidelines, while meals served in congregate settings, like soup kitchens, do not have an income test. 

Local perspective:

We asked Melanie McGuire of the Houston Food Bank to explain how TEFAP works in the Houston area.

"People don’t directly apply for TEFAP. They access it through participating food pantries or mobile distributions," explained McGuire.

"It’s not an individual sign-up program like SNAP.  It’s a USDA. initiative that purchases food from U.S. farmers and distributes food to food banks and local agencies. These agencies provide food to eligible individuals generally during a time of non-crisis through income guidelines," she said.

The Houston Food Bank says TEFAP provides about 28% of the food they distribute to people in need.

How to find food assistance

What you can do:

We asked McGuire for the best way for anyone who needs food to go about finding help.

"The easiest way to inform the public is for those in our 18-county area is when they look up their zip code to find a location in their area, generally most of those locations are accessing this food already. So just being able to find a nearby pantry or distribution location in their area, means they’re likely to find this food when they’re accessing assistance," explained McGuire.

Food pantries have their own guidelines and often interview candidates to determine their need and eligibility. 

People can enter their zip codes into the Houston Food Bank’s food and service finder to locate nearby food pantries.