USDA food programs
USDA's Food and Nutrition Service runs the food programs most nonprofits work with, including the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), the Summer Food Service Program, The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. Nearly all of this money and food reaches nonprofits through a state agency, which sets the claim schedule, trains sponsors and runs the reviews.
Two points matter for a finance office. Food you receive counts as federal awards expended, valued at fair market value or the value USDA assigns, so it can push you over the single audit threshold (2 CFR 200.502). Meal reimbursement programs also pay only for meals your records support, so attendance, menus and meal counts need to be kept as carefully as the books. FNS announces rule changes in the Federal Register, and most policy memos reach nonprofits through the state agency.
This page collects every item from The Drawdown about USDA food programs, newest first.
Week of November 16, 2026
For your finance office: USDA expects to buy about $481.5 million in TEFAP foods for FY 2027 and deliver about $360 million more in surplus foods bought last year. Your state decides how much reaches each food bank and pantry. Foods you receive count toward your federal spending, at fair market value or the value USDA assigns, so they can push you past the $1 million single audit threshold.