• Contents

  Background
• Hunger and Food Insecurity
• Food Insecurity Rates in Recent Years
Program Variation
• USDA- FNS Programs
• Farm Bill
• WIC and Child Nutrition Programs
• HHS- ACL Programs
• DHS FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program

Figures

• Figure 1. Trend in U.S. Food Insecurity, 2005-2024

Tables

• Table 1. Overview of Farm Bill Food Assistance Programs
ACL Programs

Over the years, Congress has authorized and

Summary

This report gives an overview of the major federal programs that provide food assistance within the United States and the territories. The report begins by discussing common concepts and themes across the network of domestic food assistance programs. The report is split into two main parts: programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS), and programs administered by the Administration on Aging (AOA), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Community Living (HHS-ACL). Within the USDA-FNS section are two subsections of programs: Farm Bill programs (Table 1), and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and child nutrition programs (Table 2). Within the HHS-ACL section, Table 3 provides an overview of the Older Americans Act (OAA) nutrition programs.¹ The tables within this report are intended to provide summary information, which can help illustrate the ways in which domestic food assistance programs are both similar and different.

Hunger and Food Insecurity

the United States. Such efforts date back to the Great Depression, when the government became involved in distributing agricultural surpluses to households and school lunch programs.

The relationship between food assistance and the farm economy has persisted over time, with many programs having the mutual goals of feeding people in need and supporting the agricultural sector. Most programs are administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), including the largest—the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP and several other FNS programs have historically been reauthorized in the farm bill, an omnibus reauthorization and extension of dozens of farm, food, and nutrition laws. FNS also administers programs included in a separate child nutrition reauthorization process, including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children (WIC) and the National School Lunch Program.

Other food assistance programs are administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS') Administration for Community Living (ACL) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Those programs include ACL meal programs for seniors authorized under the Older Americans Act (OAA), and FEMA's Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), which includes a focus on individuals experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness.

Although each of the programs discussed in this report provides for food in some way, the methods through which they accomplish this goal vary. For example, some programs provide food assistance to low-income households broadly, whereas others are targeted to specific populations (e.g., infants, children, seniors). The type of assistance can also differ. SNAP and certain other programs provide benefits redeemable for groceries, whereas others distribute foods or support prepared meals (e.g., the school lunch program). Some programs also support local feeding organizations' operating costs.

All of the programs aim to reduce hunger in some way. Over the past 30 years, USDA has monitored trends in food insecurity—a related concept to hunger—in order to assess national progress toward reducing food-related hardship and collect data that is used in evaluating domestic feeding programs. For 2024, USDA estimated that 13.7% of U.S. households were food insecure at some point during the year, meaning that they could not afford or obtain adequate food due to a lack of resources. Such households included 49.7 million individuals. Approximately 5.4% of U.S. households experienced very low food insecurity, a more severe kind of food insecurity that reflects reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns. USDA announced the discontinuation of its food insecurity reports in 2025.

This report begins with a brief overview of hunger and food insecurity in the United States, and then describes the domestic food assistance programs in three sections: those administered by (1) USDA FNS, (2) HHS ACL, and (3) DHS FEMA. It includes information about each program, including its authorizing language, administering agency, eligibility criteria, services provided, and participation and funding levels. It also compares and contrasts features across programs.

Background

There are aspects of other federal programs that support nutrition in the general population, such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS') Dietary Guidelines for Americans, coverage of medical foods and social determinants of health initiatives within Medicaid, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) research on and promotion of nutrition interventions.¹ Researchers have also linked certain non-food benefits, such as tax credits and cash assistance, with reductions in food insecurity.² These other linkages between federal programs and nutrition are not discussed in this report.

Evaluating trends in hunger in our nation is crucial to understanding if the efforts to prevent hunger are working and in identifying vulnerable populations that need assistance. "Hunger,"3 Over time, government officials and researchers have developed ways to evaluate trends associated with hunger, with the goal of identifying vulnerable populations that need assistance and understanding if efforts to prevent hunger are working. Hunger, however, is a challenging concept to measure. For that reason, "Instead, food security" and "food insecurity," as opposed to "hunger," are the prevailing terms used to describe the ability to access adequate food.

"Food security" and "food insecurity," as defined by USDA, focus on economic and other access-related reasons associated with an individual's ability to purchase or otherwise obtain enough to eat. They are also terms that can be objectively measured. USDA's use of these terms came out of a decades-long collaboration between federal agencies and private-sector researchers to improve the measurement of hunger in the U.S. population.³4 This consortium concluded that hunger, as an individual-level physiological condition, was difficult to measure through a household survey. They recommended food security and food insecurity as alternative concepts that captured the economic reasons for inadequate food and/or nutritional intake, rather than individual behaviors that may result in the physical condition of being hungry (for example, dieting or missing a meal due to illness). This newThe resulting food security measure was deployed in a multiquestionmulti-question "Food Security Supplement" to the Census's Current Population Survey (CPS) starting in 1995.⁵ In 2006, a National Academies panel convened at the request of USDA evaluated the measure, recommending its continued use with some refinements to the food security and insecurity definitions.⁴

Each year, USDA's Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS) conducts an analysis based on the Food Security Supplement data.⁵ Data from the USDA-ERS's 2017 study are included in this CRS report. 6 Since 2006, USDA-ERS has recognized a spectrum of four levels of food security, listed below from highest to lowest:

Food Security:

High food security—Households had no problems, or anxiety about, consistently accessing adequate food.

Marginal food security—Households had problems at times, or anxiety about, accessing adequate food, but the quality, variety, and quantity of their food intake were not substantially reduced.

Food Insecurity:

Low food security—Households reduced the quality, variety, and desirability of their diets due to a lack of money or resources, but the quantity of food intake and normal eating patterns were not substantially disrupted.

Very low food security—At times during the year, eating patterns of one or more household members were disrupted and food intake reduced because the household lacked money and other resources for food.⁶

In 2017, USDA-ERS found that 11.87 USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) has historically funded the Food Security Supplement and published annual reports analyzing findings from the survey.⁸ In fall 2025, USDA announced that it would be discontinuing the survey and reports after the release of its 2024 findings.⁹ Findings from ERS's 2024 report are presented in the next section. Food Insecurity Rates in Recent Years In 2024, ERS found that 13.7% of U.S. households (where "household" includes one or more members) were food insecure.¹⁰ This was similar to the food insecurity rate in 2022 and 2023, but a statistically significant increase compared to rates in 2016 through 2021.¹¹ As shown in Figure 1, the national household food insecurity rate reached recent highs of nearly 15% following the Great Recession, declined to a low of 10.5% in 2019 and 2020, then increased again following the COVID-19 pandemic.¹²

Figure 1.Trends in U.S. Food Insecurity, 2005-2024

(figure is interactive in HTML version of this report)

Notes: "Low food security" and "very low food security" are subsets of all food insecurity. Low food security means that households reduced the quality, variety, and desirability of their diets due to a lack of financial resources, but the quantity of food intake and normal eating patterns were not substantially disrupted. Very low food security means that at times during the year, eating patterns of one or more household members were disrupted and food intake reduced because the household lacked money or other resources for food.

• 13.7% of U.S. households (18.3 million) were food insecure at some point during the year. Such households included 49.7 million individuals.
• Of these households, 11.1 million experienced low food security, and 7.2 million experienced very low food security.
• On average, food insecure households experienced food insecurity in seven months out of the year.¹³
• Food insecure households include those who receive food assistance through federally funded programs and those who do not.¹⁴ In 2024, nearly 60% of food insecure households reported participating in SNAP, WIC, or the NSLP in the last month.¹⁵ While research has demonstrated that certain food assistance programs can reduce food insecurity, they do not always eliminate the condition entirely.¹⁶

Figure 1. Food Insecure Households, 1999-2017 Percentage of U.S. Households with Food Insecurity and Very Low Food Security

Source: CRS adapted from Household Food Security in the United States in 2017, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, ERR-256, September 2018, (and past years' reports in the series) using data from U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1998 to 2017 Food Security Supplements. Notes: "Very low food security" is a subset of "food insecurity."

USDA-ERS also analyzes food insecurity rates for different subpopulations and household types, finding subgroups above and below the national rates of food insecurity.¹⁷ Some examples of their 2017 findingsthese findings for 2024 include the following:

• 79.9% of households that included an elderly memberolder adult (aged 65 or older) (4.4 million households) were food insecure. This increase from 2016's rate (7.8%) is not statistically significant.
• 15.7% of households that included children. This rate was higher (11.3%) among older adults living alone. 18.4% of households with children (6.7 million households) were food insecure. Food insecure households with children do not always include children who are themselves food insecure, as adults often shield children. Therefore, only 7.7% of households with children. However, not all members of the household are affected by food insecurity in the same way. Adults tend to shield children from food insecurity, and children often receive food benefits (such as free school meals) that are not accessible to adults. In 2024, ERS estimated that roughly half of food insecure households with children actually included a child experiencing food insecurity (representing 7.3 million children in 3.3 million households).
• This included 751,000 children living in 318,000 households in which children experienced very low food security, meaning that they were hungry, skipped a meal, or did not eat for a whole day because there was not enough money for food.
24.4% of households headed by Black, non-Hispanic individuals; 10.1% of households headed by White, non-Hispanic individuals; and 20.2 included food insecure children. These changes from 2016 findings (which were 16.5% and 8.0%, respectively) are not statistically significant.
• 21.8% of households headed by black, non-Hispanic individuals; 8.8% of households headed by white, non-Hispanic individuals; and 18.0% of households headed by Hispanic individuals were food insecure. These were not statistically significant changes from 2016 rates (22.5%, 9.3%, and 18.5%, respectively).

Program Variation

Program Variation There are a number of domestic food assistance programs.¹⁸ Although each of the 17 programs discussed in this report provides for food in some way, the ways in which each program accomplishesthey accomplish this goal vary. For example, programs vary with respect to the target population (e.g., pregnant women, children, older individuals), eligibility requirements, and types of assistance provided (e.g., grocery benefits, commodity foods, prepared meals), and settings (e.g., foods for consumption at home, meals served in institutional settings). commodity foods, prepared meals). In an April 2010 report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) listed 70 programs that pertain to food and nutrition but ultimately narrowed their study to a smaller subset of 18 programs that focus on food assistance or coordination of food assistance activities.⁹

One way to examine this variation is to compare the populations eligible for these domestic food assistance programs. For instance, the WIC program is available to children under the age of five, while the school meals programs (the NSLP and School Breakfast Program [SBP]) become available to school-age children. Another way to examine this variation is to compare the benefits that these programs provide. Within this constellation of programs, federal resources provide benefits redeemable for uncooked foods, cash assistance to support program operations, USDA-purchased commodity foods (discussed further in the next section), and prepared meals. While some programs provide specific foods (e.g., through the federal and state requirements for "food package" in the Commodity Supplemental Food Program [CSFP] and WIC), SNAP gives benefits that may be redeemed for a wide variety of foods at authorized retailers. OAA programs provide prepared meals that not only assist those who lack adequate resources to purchase food, but can also assist those who lack the functional capacity to prepare a meal on their own.

The following sections of the report and the accompanying tables provide more details about the services, eligibility, participation, and funding for each program. They help illustrate the similarities and differences between the programs, including the extent to which they provide similar or distinct forms of assistance to similar or distinct populations.

USDA- FNS Programs

USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers domestic food assistance programs authorized in the farm bill (Table 1),¹⁰19 as well as WIC and Child Nutrition Programs (Table 2). Table 1 and Table 2 provide details on the USDA-FNS programs, including services provided, eligibility, participation, and funding.

The USDA- (The tables in this report describe normal program operations, which may differ during disasters and emergencies.²⁰) The FNS national office works in concert with USDA-FNS's regional offices¹¹21 and state agencies. With respect to SNAP (formerly known as the Food Stamp Program), state agencies and legislatures have a number of options and waivers that can affect SNAP program operations from state to state. USDA-FNS's "SNAP State Options" report illustrates how states are administering the program.¹² With respect to school meals programs (National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program22 With respect to school meals programs (NSLP and SBP), state departments of education and school districts play a role in administering these programs. WIC and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) are often coadministered by state and local health departments.

As mentioned above, USDA commodity¹³ foods are foods purchased by the USDA for distribution to USDA nutrition programs. The programs in this report that include USDA commodity foods are Several FNS programs distribute USDA-purchased foods as a primary or secondary means of assistance. Those programs include The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), National School Lunch Program (NSLP)NSLP, Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), and Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). USDA commodity foods are also provided to the HHS-ACL's Nutrition Services Incentive Program (NSIP) (Table 3). These programs distribute "entitlement commodities" (an amount of USDA foods to which grantees are entitled by law) as well as "bonus commodities" (USDA food purchases based on the needs of the agricultural producers).¹⁴

23 These domestic food assistance programs have a historical, and in most respects, ongoing relationship with farming and agriculture. For example, the first Food Stamp Program, a pilot program in the late 1930s and early 1940s, sold orange and blue "food stamps" to program participants.¹⁵24 While $1 would provide a program participant with $1 in value of "orange stamps" that could be spent on any food, the program participant would also receive an additional 50 cents worth of "blue stamps," which could only be used to purchase agricultural products that were in surplus. Commodity donation programs that supported the post-Depression farm economy were precursors to the National School Lunch Program.¹⁶25 TEFAP and several of the child nutrition programs still benefit from USDA commodity foods as well as USDA's donation of bonus commodities, which USDA purchases based on agricultural producers' identification of surplus goods or need for price support. In more contemporary examples, the 2014 farm bill (P.L. 113-79), 2010 child nutrition reauthorization (P.L. 111-296), and USDA initiatives include efforts to promote "farm-to-school" endeavors, seeking, for example, to facilitate school cafeterias' purchasing from local and regional farms.¹⁷

Farm Bill

Table 1 lists those programs that were most recently reauthorized by the 2018 26 USDA Food Assistance Resources

Farm Bill

Farm bill nutrition programs have their authorizing language primarily in the

• Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (originally P.L. 88-525, most recently amended by P.L. 115-334),
• P.L. 88-525 as amended; codified at 7 U.S.C. §§2011 et seq.), Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (originally P.L. 98-8, most recently amended by P.L. 115-334), and
• P.L. 98-8 as amended; codified at 7 U.S.C. §§7501 et seq.), and Agriculture Consumer and Protection Act of 1973 (originally P.L. 93-86, most recently amended by P.L. 115-334P.L. 93-86 as amended; codified at 7 U.S.C. §612c note).

The primary food assistance program in the farm bill is SNAP. TheIn 2024, CRS estimated, primarily using the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO's) June 2024 baseline estimates, that approximately 81% of the (CBO), at the time of enactment, found that close to 76% of the forecasted 2018 farm bill spending was in the nutrition title, (Title IV).²⁹.¹⁹ This is nearly all due to the mandatory spending associated with SNAP. Formerly referred to as the Food Stamp Program, the federal program name change to SNAP was included in the 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246). Further detail on SNAP, beyond Table 1, is available in CRS Report R42505, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): A Primer on Eligibility and Benefits.

Farm bill nutrition programs have generally been under the jurisdiction of the House Agriculture Committee and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.³⁰ CRS In Focus IF12255, and Forestry.²⁰ The 2018 farm bill was enacted on December 20, 2018, and provides authorization (primarily authorizations of appropriations) through FY2023 (September 30, 2023) for most nutrition program activities. CRS In Focus IF11087, 2018 Farm Bill Primer: SNAP and Nutrition Title Programs, also summarizes these programs and policies.

WIC and Child Nutrition Programs

Table 2 lists the programs authorized by the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (P.L. 79-396) and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (P.L. 89-642 as amended; codified at 42 U.S.C. §§1751 et seq.) and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (P.L. 89-642 as amended; codified at 42 U.S.C. §§1771 et seq.). Broadly, the programs contained in these laws are the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) as well as the "child nutrition programs." "Child nutrition programs" is a category used to describe the USDA-FNS programs that help to provide food for children in school or institutional settings.

The National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program provide a per-meal subsidy for each meal that is served for free, for a reduced price, or for a full price (called a "paid" meal). The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) will, under certain circumstances, provide free meals or snacks to all the children at a site, because it is often the site (not the child) that is subject to eligibility criteria. The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), or snack program (see Table 1), is sometimes referred to as a child nutrition program. In this report, it is included in farm bill programs because FFVP has been more often amended by omnibus farm bills than child nutrition reauthorization legislation.

Historically, the WIC and child nutrition programs' authorizing statutes were reauthorized for a five-year period. The most recent reauthorization as of the child nutrition programs. These programs support food and nutrition starting during pregnancy and early infancy (in the case of WIC) and continuing through childhood.³¹

Two programs—WIC and the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer Program for Children (Summer EBT)—provide electronic benefits to eligible households that are redeemable for groceries at participating retailers. WIC is available to women during pregnancy and postpartum and to children from birth through age four, and includes nutrition and breastfeeding support services in addition to food benefits. Summer EBT is targeted toward households with school-age children who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals, and benefits are provided during the summer months when school is out.

under subsequent appropriations laws.³² Additional amendments were made to summer meals programs in the FY2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act (P.L. 117-328), which allowed meal delivery in rural areas and permanently authorized the Summer EBT program.³³ WIC and the child nutrition programs have generally been under the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Education and LaborWorkforce and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. For further details (beyond Table 2 information) on these programs and their reauthorizations, see

• CRS In Focus IF10266, An Introduction to Child Nutrition Reauthorization
• CRS Report R43783, School Meals Programs and Other USDAChild Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR): An Overview CRS Report R46234, School Meals and Other Child Nutrition Programs: A Primer
• Background and Funding CRS Report R44115, A Primer on WIC: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children
• CRS Report R44373, Tracking the Next Child Nutrition Reauthorization: An Overview
• CRS Report R41354, Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization: P.L. 111-296

HHS-ACL Programs

The Administration on Aging (AOA) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Community Living (ACL) administers domestic food assistance programs authorized under the Older Americans Act (OAA). These programs provide formula grants to states, U.S. territories, and Indian tribal organizations to support congregate meals in group settings (i.ee.g., senior centers, community centers, schools, and houses of worship) and home-delivered meals to older Americans.²²individuals.³⁴ AOA also administers the Nutrition Services Incentive Program (NSIP), which provides funds to the same entities to purchase food for these programs. While OAA's nutrition services programs provide food assistance in the form of a prepared meal to older individuals living in the community, the stated purpose of the program is not only to reduce hunger and, food insecurity, and malnutrition, but also to promote socialization, as well as the health and well-being of older individuals.²³35 Table 3 provides details on the HHS- ACL programs, including eligibility, services provided, and funding.

Older individuals who meet certain income and other requirements may also be eligible for other domestic food assistance programs administered by USDA, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP), and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP)SNAP, SFMNP, CSFP, and CACFP. Moreover, other services funded under OAA provide outreach, education, and referral to assist eligible older individuals in accessing these USDA benefits and programs. While senior nutrition programs are administered by AOA, there continues to be program coordination between HHS- ACL and USDA- FNS. At the federal level, states and other entities may choose to receive all or part of their NSIP allotments in the form of USDA commodities.²⁴36 Obligations for NSIP commodity procurement are funded under an agreement between HHS-ACL and USDA-FNS.²⁵

37 At the state level, HHS- ACL and USDA- FNS nutrition services programs that target seniors may be jointly administered under state aging and disability agencies, who are primarily responsible at the state level for administering OAA-funded programs. According to findings from an evaluation of the OAA nutrition services programs, 8 in 10 State Units on Aging (SUAs)—designated state-level agencies²⁶38—had a nutrition program administrator (NPA) who plans, develops, administers, implements, and evaluates OAA nutrition services. In 40% of SUAs with an NPA, the NPA has program responsibilities for OAA nutrition services as well as USDA programs such as SNAP and SFMNP.²⁷39 Whether a state agency has some responsibility for administering HHS- ACL and USDA- FNS programs and services may depend on whether the agency functions as an independent administrative agency or part of an umbrella agency that also has responsibility for other health and human services.

SUAs may also collaborate with USDA-FNS programs. Most SUAs reported that they also collaborate with SNAP (56%) and SFMNP (62%), but collaborate less so with other USDA-FNS programs, such as CSFP, Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)CACFP, and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).²⁸40 Collaboration activities with SNAP and SFMNP included promoting older-adult access to these programs, participating in committees and workshops as well as training and assistance programs, and policy planning activities.⁴¹ Also, older adults participating in SNAP can use their benefits as a voluntary contribution toward the OAA meal if the nutrition service provider is authorized by USDA to accept SNAP benefits for this purpose and the older adults choose to do so.²⁹

Congress has reauthorized and amended the OAA numerous times since it was first enacted in 1965. The last OAA reauthorization occurred in 20162020, when the 114^116th Congress enacted the Supporting Older Americans Act Amendments of 2016of 2020 (P.L. 114-144116-131), which extended the act's authorization of appropriations for most programs, including senior nutrition, through FY2019. The 2016 OAA reauthorization made two changes to the nutrition services programs. First, it required states to "utilize" the expertise of a dietician or other individuals with equivalent education and training in nutrition science, or an individual with comparable expertise (rather than "solicit"). Second, where feasible, it added language for states to ensure that the nutrition project encourages the use of locally grown foods in meals programs and identifies potential partnerships and contracts with local producers and providers of locally grown foods.³⁰