USDA Nutrition Assistance Programs:
August 23, 2021
Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Randy Alison Aussenberg
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) programs
Specialist in Nutrition
are often part of emergency response efforts, providing foods for distribution, additional
Assistance Policy
benefits for redemption, and program flexibilities. During the COVID-19 pandemic,

access to food—particularly in light of increased unemployment and closures of
Kara Clifford Billings
institutions that households rely on for food, such as schools—has been a concern for
Analyst in Social Policy
many people. Some observers also view the programs, particularly the Supplemental

Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as a means of economic stimulus. This report
discusses related provisions of five laws that supplement FNS’s prior response to the

COVID-19 pandemic with new funds and authorities:
 Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA; P.L. 116-127, enacted March 18, 2020);
 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-136, enacted March 27,
2020);
 Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act (P.L. 116-159, enacted October 1,
2020);
 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Division N, Title VII (P.L. 116-260, enacted December
27, 2020); and
 American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Title I (ARPA, P.L. 117-2, enacted March 11, 2021).
This report also provides an overview of USDA’s implementation of COVID-19 response laws, including the
Biden Administration’s changes to the implementation of some of the 116th Congress laws’ provisions.
Within SNAP, the COVID-19 pandemic response laws have al owed for certain changes to eligibility and benefit
amounts. Among other changes, FFCRA authorized an option for states to increase households’ benefits up to the
maximum amount. More recently, P.L. 116-260 and then ARPA increased the maximum benefit amount by 15%
for January through September 2021. In addition, the laws al owed for a variety of administrative flexibilities; for
instance, provisions designed to make it easier for states to manage the recertification of participating households
during social distancing. The laws also provided additional funding for benefits and specified grants for other
SNAP and related functions.
The pandemic response laws supplemented the block grant funding for Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. These territories do not operate SNAP, but rather their own
nutrition assistance programs using block grant funding.
FFCRA first established the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program, and subsequent pandemic
response laws expanded it. This program provides SNAP-like benefits to households, serving as replacements for
meals that normal y would have been provided in schools and, fol owing expansion of the program, in child care
centers.
The pandemic response laws have also enabled changes within institution-based child nutrition programs,
including school and summer meals programs. The pandemic response for these programs has included an
expansion of USDA’s ability to waive child nutrition program requirements, the temporary ability for providers to
serve free meals to al children, and a new program to cover financial losses for meal providers.
The laws have also provided supplemental appropriations for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and a benefit increase through ARPA. In addition, they gave USDA
authority to issue a wide variety of program waivers, including changes to benefit issuance, product availability,
and physical presence requirements.
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USDA Nutrition Assistance Programs: Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Supplemental funding was provided to programs that distribute USDA-purchased commodities. The Emergency
Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) provides federal y purchased foods and administrative funds to states for
distribution to emergency feeding organizations, including food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens. Three of
the pandemic response laws together provided over $1.2 bil ion to TEFAP. Smal er amounts were also provided
for the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) and the Commodity Supplemental Food
Program (CSFP).
In addition to responding to the COVID-19 pandemic through its existing nutrition assistance programs, USDA
launched two new programs to feed people on a temporary basis: (1) the Farmers to Families Food Box program,
initial y funded under the FFCRA, which has provided food boxes to individuals and households; and (2) the
Emergency Meals to You program, which provided food boxes to households with school-aged children in rural
areas. FNS also activated emergency food distribution programs in certain states and tribal nations during the
early months of the pandemic.
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Table 2. SNAP Maximum Monthly Benefits Before, During, and After COVID-19
Pandemic Response Laws’ 15% Increase ......................................................................... 8

Contacts
Author Information ....................................................................................................... 25

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USDA Nutrition Assistance Programs: Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has increased food insecurity1 in the United States, as
households face unemployment and closure of institutions, like schools, that many Americans
rely on for food. Data indicate that the percentage of individuals reporting they do not have
enough to eat nearly tripled during the pandemic. Specifical y, the percentage of U.S. adults
reporting that they sometimes or often did not have enough to eat rose from 3.7% in 2019 to a
high of 13.7% in December 2020. As of the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent data collection
(from June 23 to July 5, 2021), 9.7% of adults reported sometimes or often not having enough to
eat.2 Prior to the pandemic, food insecurity rates had been improving since the Great Recession.3
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) programs have been
seen as a critical component to combatting food insecurity during the pandemic. At the same
time, they have had to adjust to unprecedented administrative chal enges, such as how to enroll
households in benefits remotely and how to reach people who were previously served in
institutional settings. Increasing households’ food purchasing power may also be a means of
economic stimulus.4 The response of FNS programs to the COVID-19 pandemic has been shaped
by new federal laws as wel as USDA, states, and providers working under the parameters of the
laws.
This report discusses related provisions of five laws that supplement FNS’s COVID-19 pandemic
response with new funds and authorities:
 Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA; P.L. 116-127, enacted March
18, 2020);
 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-136,
enacted March 27, 2020);
 Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act (P.L. 116-159,
enacted October 1, 2020) (“FY2021 Continuing Appropriations Act”);

1 USDA defines food insecurity “ lack[ing] access to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household
members.” It is a broader measure than the data on “not having enough to eat” discussed in this paragraph. For further
information about food insecurity, see A. Coleman-Jensen, M.P. Rabbitt, and C.A. Gregory, Household Food Security
in the United States in 2019, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Economic Research Service, September 2020, p.
3, https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=99281.
2 T he USDA data for 2019 measured not having enough to eat over the past year, as opposed to t he past seven days.
U.S. Census Bureau, “Week 21 Household Pulse Survey: December 9 – December 21: T able 2b. Food Sufficiency for
Households, in the Last 7 Days, by Select Characteristics,” January 6, 2021, https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2020/
demo/hhp/hhp21.html and “ Week 33 Household Pulse Survey: June 23–July 5: T able 2. Food Sufficiency for
Households, in the Last 7 Days, by Select Characteristics,” July 14, 2021, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/
household-pulse-survey/data.html. CRS divided the number of adults reporting sometimes or often not having enough
to eat in the last seven days by the total number of adults minus those who did not report their food sufficiency status.
For 2019 figures, see A. Coleman-Jensen, M.P. Rabbitt, and C.A. Gregory, Household Food Security in the United
States in 2019, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Economic Research Service, Sep tember 2020, p. 3,
https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=99281.
3 A. Coleman-Jensen, M.P. Rabbitt, and C.A. Gregory, Household Food Security in the United States in 2019, U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA), Economic Research Service, September 2020, p. 3, https://www.ers.usda.gov/
publications/pub-details/?pubid=99281.
4 Patrick Canning and Rosanna Mentzer Morrison, “Quantifying the Impact of SNAP Benefits on the U.S. Economy
and Jobs,” Amber Waves Magazine, July 18, 2019, https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2019/july/quantifying-the-
impact -of-snap-benefits-on-the-us-economy-and-jobs/.
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 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Division N, Title VII (P.L. 116-260,
enacted December 27, 2020) (“FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act”);5 and
 American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Title I (ARPA, P.L. 117-2, enacted March 11,
2021).
This report also discusses recent Biden Administration plans to implement ARPA and to change
the administration of some of the policies included in the 116th Congress laws. On January 22,
2021, President Biden signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to “promptly identify
actions they can take within existing authorities to address the current economic crisis resulting
from the pandemic.”6 On that date, the White House and USDA, pursuant to this executive order,
announced plans to change the implementation of certain provisions of the enacted COVID-19
pandemic response laws, particularly through increasing certain benefit amounts.7
The report also discusses some FNS actions taken to facilitate nutrition assistance program
operations during the pandemic, including waivers of program requirements and new USDA
initiatives to respond to food needs.8
Discussion of these laws and actions is organized by program in the sections to follow (e.g.,
SNAP policies in the four acts are discussed within the same section).
USDA FNS COVID-19 Pandemic Response Website
FNS has maintained a website throughout the pandemic that provides a hub for its pandemic guidance and
resources: https://www.fns.usda.gov/coronavirus.
Many of the policies discussed in this report vary state-by-state. For example, not every state applied for every
available program waiver. The website shows which options a particular state is implementing, or al ows users to
check how common a particular option is.
For nearly every statutory provision, FNS has issued guidance, including question -and-answer documents that
elaborate upon the requirements in law. The website is a resource for consulting these further policy details.
In some cases, FNS has offered program flexibilities under existing authority. For example, the Commodity
Supplemental Food Program offered new COVID-19 pandemic flexibilities without policy changes in the pandemic
response laws. The FNS website is a place to check on program operations aside from those enacted in the new
laws.
Funding Overview
The COVID-19 pandemic response laws included supplemental funding for USDA nutrition
assistance programs. Some of this funding was a finite, specified amount. In other cases, open-

5 In between P.L. 116-136 and P.L. 116-260, the House passed two COVID-19 pandemic response bills that were not
taken up by the Senate. Each of these contained domestic food assistance provisions. T his CRS report only discusses
enacted laws.
6 Executive Order 14002, “Economic Relief Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic,” 86 Federal Register 7229-7230,
January 22, 2021.
7 T he White House, “Fact Sheet: President Biden’s New Executive Actions Deliver Economic Relief for American
Families and Businesses Amid the COVID-19 Crises,” press release, January 22, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/
briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/22/fact-sheet-president -bidens-new-executive-actions-deliver-economic-
relief-for-american-families-and-businesses-amid-the-covid-19-crises/; USDA, “ Biden Administration Expands P -EBT
to Benefit Millions of Low-Income and Food Insecure Children During Pandemic: USDA Says SNAP Benefits Are
Inadequate for Most Participants and Begins Process to Extend Emergency Allotments to States and Update T hrifty
Food Plan Formula,” press release, January 22, 2021, https://www.fns.usda.gov/news-item/usda-001521. USDA also
announced an update to the T hrifty Food Plan; this an implementation of an earlier, non -pandemic-response law, the
2018 farm bill (P.L. 115-334).
8 USDA, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), “FNS Responds to COVID-19,” https://www.fns.usda.gov/coronavirus.
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ended funding was authorized and appropriated in such sums as necessary. A specific ceiling was
not provided in the laws for the open-ended funding. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
has estimated or is to estimate how that funding is expected to impact direct spending, but those
estimates do not dictate a ceiling or floor to the spending. Table 1 provides an overview of the
funding provided by the laws, and related policies are discussed in subsequent sections. Open-
ended funding and CBO scores, when available, are noted but the totals in the table reflect only
the finite funding provided. While the pandemic response laws did not designate funds
specifical y for the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, USDA used some of the commodity
funds listed for this purpose.
In the case of P.L. 116-159 and P.L. 116-260, the table only displays the relevant policies and
provisions in the divisions noted. These two laws included a continuation of annual funding and
FY2021 appropriations for FNS programs respectively, but these funding levels are not included
in the table or this report. Some of the open-ended funding requires subsequent appropriations
action, while some of it is directly appropriated in the pandemic response laws’ provisions.
Table 1. Supplemental Appropriations for USDA Nutrition Assistance Programs to
Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic
(Dol ars in mil ions)
FY2021
FY2021
Continuing
Consolidated
Appropriations
Appropriations
FFCRA
CARES
Act
Act
(P.L. 116-
Act (P.L.
(P.L. 116-159),
(P.L. 116-260),
ARPA
127)
116-136)
Division D
Division N
(P.L. 117-2)
Nutrition Assistance
(March 18,
(March
(October 1,
(December 27,
(March 11,
Program or Activity
2020)
27, 2020)
2020)
2020)
2021)
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance

Program (SNAP) account

Pandemic EBT
Open-ended
Open-ended
Open-ended
Open-ended
fundinga

fundingb
fundingc
fundingd
SNAP time limit suspension,
Open-ended

emergency al otments
fundinge

SNAP contingency reserve

$15,510

SNAP administrative
Open-ended

flexibilities

fundingb
SNAP administrative
expenses

$100
$1,150
SNAP 15% increase
Open-ended
Open-ended

fundingc
fundingf
SNAP income exclusion, and
Open-ended

student provisions

fundingc
SNAP online purchasing

$5
$25
Northern Mariana Islands,
$100
$200

$614
$1,000
Puerto Rico, American
Samoa
Food Distribution Program

$100

on Indian Reservations

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FY2021
FY2021
Continuing
Consolidated
Appropriations
Appropriations
FFCRA
CARES
Act
Act
(P.L. 116-
Act (P.L.
(P.L. 116-159),
(P.L. 116-260),
ARPA
127)
116-136)
Division D
Division N
(P.L. 117-2)
Nutrition Assistance
(March 18,
(March
(October 1,
(December 27,
(March 11,
Program or Activity
2020)
27, 2020)
2020)
2020)
2021)
Child Nutrition Programs

$8,800
Open-ended
Open-ended
Open-ended
funding for
funding for new
funding for new
waiversb
program optioncg
program optionh
The Emergency Food Assistance
$400
$450
$400
j,k
Programi (TEFAP)

Open-ended
$500m
$1,900j
$500k; open-
USDA commodity purchases
fundingl

ended fundingl
Commodity Supplemental Food
$13n
$37
Program (CSFP)

Special Supplemental Nutrition

Program for Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC)

Supplemental funding
$500

Waivers

Open-ended

funding

Cash-Value Voucher Increase

$490
Program Modernization

$390
Gus Schumacher Nutrition
$70

Incentive Program (GuSNIP)

Total (not including open-
(only open
ended funding estimates)
$1,000
$25,560
ended)
$3,102
$3,592
Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) based on the specified laws. Congressional
Budget Office cost estimates for H.R. 6201 (April 2, 2020); H.R. 748 (April 16, 2020); H.R. 8337 (September 23,
2020); H.R. 133, P.L. 116-260, Division N (January 14, 2021); Reconciliation Recommendations of the House
Committee on Agriculture (February 13, 2021); Reconciliation Recommendations of the House Committee on
Education and Labor (February 15, 2021).
Notes: Al funding in this table is designated as emergency and does not count against budget caps. Emergency
Meals to You funding is included in the Child Nutrition Program row. Funding for the Disaster Household
Distribution program is not available and not included in the table.
a. CBO stated in its estimate that this spending is expected to replace spending on child nutrition programs
and therefore does not have a net cost.
b. For al open-ended mandatory funding nutrition provisions in P.L. 116-159 listed in the table, CBO
estimated a total of $8.063 bil ion in budget authority for FY2021 and $8.121 bil ion for the 10 -year budget
window (FY2021-FY2030).
c. CBO has estimated that P.L. 116-260, Division N, Title VII (Nutrition and Agriculture Relief) provisions
increase direct spending by $24.917 bil ion in budget authority for FY2021 and $25.697 bil ion for the 10 -
year budget window (FY2021-FY2030). These estimates include nutrition and agriculture provisions, and
include open-ended and capped funding.
d. CBO estimated that these changes would cost $5.560 bil ion over the 2021 -2030 period.
e. CBO estimated that together these changes would increase open-ended spending for benefits by a total of
$21.2 bil ion in FY2020 and FY2022. The provision did not appropriate this funding.
f.
CBO estimated that these changes would cost $3.54 bil ion in FY2021.
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g. P.L. 116-260 provided open-ended mandatory funding for a program to cover a proportion of financial
losses experienced by some child nutrition program providers during the early months of the pandemic.
h. P.L. 117-2 provided open-ended mandatory funding for meal and snack reimbursements for individuals ages
19-24 served by CACFP-participating emergency shelters. CBO has estimated that this policy would cost a
total of $180 mil ion, spent in FY2021 and FY2022.
i.
States may use up to $100 mil ion of the funding provided by P.L. 116-127, up to $150 mil ion of the funding
provided by P.L. 116-136, and up to 20% ($80 mil ion) of the funding provided by P.L. 116-260 for food
storage and distribution costs.
j.
Section 751 of P.L. 116-260 (Division N) provided no less than $1.5 bil ion for USDA to, among other
purposes, “purchase and distribute agricultural products … to individuals in need, including through delivery
to nonprofit organizations that can receive, store, and distribute food items.” Using this authority, USDA
spent $1.4 bil ion on the Farmers to Families Food Box program and al ocated $500 mil ion for TEFAP as of
the date of this report.
k. Section 1001 of P.L. 117-2 provided $3.7 bil ion for USDA to, among other purposes, “purchase and
distribute agricultural commodities … to individuals in need, including through delivery to nonprofit
organizations and through restaurants and other food related entities, as determined by the Secretary, that
may receive, store, process, and distribute food items.” Using this authority, USDA al ocated $500 mil ion
for TEFAP as of the date of this report.
l.
This funding is for USDA to “purchase commodities for emergency distribution in any area of the United
States during a public health emergency designation.” P.L. 116-127 (§1101(g)) enacted on March 18, 2020,
authorized funding through September 30, 2020. Using this authority, USDA spent nearly $4 bil ion on the
first three rounds of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program. P.L. 117-2 (§1108), enacted on March 11,
2021, removed the expiration date.
m. USDA used $500 mil ion in unobligated funds for the Office of the Agricultural Secretary from the CARES
Act (P.L. 116-136) for the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, according to CRS correspondence with
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service on November 19, 2020.
n. Up to 20% ($2.6 mil ion) of the funding may be used for state administrative expenses.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a number of chal enges for SNAP. To address the economic
downturn and increased unemployment, the laws have included temporary benefit increases as
wel as a requirement for the partial suspension of certain work-related eligibility rules. The laws
also have granted USDA authority to offer administrative flexibilities to SNAP state agencies,
responding to the constraints of social distancing, remote work, and higher rates of new SNAP
participants.
FY2020 participation and spending data for SNAP reflect increases in participation and spending
during the pandemic.9 Focusing on participation in March 2020 (the month the pandemic was
declared) through September 2020 (the end of the fiscal year), a monthly average of 41.7 mil ion
people received SNAP benefits, as compared to the first months of FY2020 (October 2019
through February 2020) when an average of 37.3 mil ion people received SNAP benefits.
Program costs were $60.4 bil ion in FY2019 and $78.9 bil ion in FY2020, an $18.5 bil ion (31%)
increase for the full year.
SNAP’s funding is largely open-ended mandatory appropriations. To the extent to which the
COVID-19 pandemic response laws change eligibility for SNAP benefits or the calculation of
those benefits, the laws create the budget authority to expend already appropriated funds for those
benefits. In some cases, supplemental funding for policies was appropriated within the same law

9 Data in this paragraph is from USDA, FNS, Keydata Report (September 2020 data), available at
https://www.fns.usda.gov/data/january-keydata-report -september-2020-data.
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authorizing a change in policy; in others, funding was provided for the purpose in subsequent
laws. These issues are discussed below.
SNAP Benefit Increases and Waivers
Over the course of the 116th and 117th Congresses, COVID-19 response laws provided several
increases to SNAP benefits. First, FFCRA provided emergency al otments up to the maximum
benefit amount; these particular increases were expanded under the Biden Administration’s
interpretation of the law. Then, the FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act increased the
maximum benefit amount, and ARPA extended the duration of this increase through September
30, 2021. Separate from the pandemic response laws, the Biden Administration has implemented
a provision of the 2018 farm bil creating an across-the-board increase to SNAP benefits
scheduled to take effect October 1, 2021.
Emergency Allotment Increases
FFCRA provided for temporary SNAP benefit increases during the COVID-19 public health
emergency; this provision applies only when both (1) a public health emergency under Section
319 of the Public Health Service Act and (2) a state emergency have been declared.10 Prior to this
policy, SNAP benefits were calculated by subtracting a share of the household’s net income from
a maximum benefit; some but not al households received the maximum benefit.11 With
emergency al otments, the law required USDA to grant SNAP state agencies’ requests that are
supported “with sufficient data (as determined by [USDA]).” The increases are “to address
temporary food needs not greater than the applicable maximum monthly al otment for the
household size.” For much of the pandemic, al 53 SNAP state agencies were providing these
emergency al otments, but the number of states doing so has begun to fal as their respective state
emergency declarations have ended.12
The Trump and Biden Administrations implemented the emergency al otments policy differently.
During the Trump Administration, USDA interpreted the emergency al otments increase as
available for any household who would have been eligible for less than the maximum benefit.
These households then would receive the maximum benefit amount. Under this interpretation,
households already receiving the maximum al otment did not receive any emergency al otment
increase. This interpretation was the subject of litigation.13

10 P.L. 116-127, Division B, T itle III, §2302(a). This provision is authorized only when both federal and state
emergencies are in place, specifically: “in the event of a public health emergency declaration by the Secretary of Health
and Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act based on an outbreak of coronavirus disease
2019 (COVID-19) and the issuance of an emergency or disaster declaration by a State based on an outbreak of
COVID-19.” (emphasis added).
11 For a summary of income eligibility and benefit calculation, see CRS Report R42505, Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP): A Prim er on Eligibility and Benefits.
12 For example, 53 SNAP state agencies provided emergency allotments in December 2020, and 37 SNAP state
agencies provided them in August 2021. USDA-FNS website, https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/covid-19-emergency-
allotments-guidance (accessed August 6, 2021).
13 See, for example, Gilliam v. United States Dep't of Agric., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 166171 at 1 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 11,
2020), Hall v. United States Dep't of Agric., 467 F.Supp.3d (N.D. Cal. June 17, 2020). See also Kate Giammarise,
“'Just Scraping By’: Families in PA Waiting on Additional Food Stamps as Court Fight Continues,” WESA, December
3, 2020, https://www.wesa.fm/post/just-scraping-families-pa-waiting-additional-food-stamps-court -fight -continues#
stream/0.
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The Biden Administration reviewed its authority to al ow states to provide emergency al otments
on top of the maximum benefit 14 and ultimately implemented an increase for the households that
were receiving the maximum pre-emergency al otment.15 Under April 1, 2021, guidance, the
Biden Administration updated the prior Administration’s guidance to provide an emergency
al otments minimum increase of $95 to al households.16 Those that received no prior increase
would get $95 and those with a prior increase of less than $95 would receive the difference.
Temporary 15% Increase to Maximum Monthly Benefits
The FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act provided the authority and funding for a 15%
increase to FY2021 maximum SNAP benefit amounts for January through June 2021.17 ARPA
extended this increase through September 2021.18 The basis for SNAP’s maximum benefit is a
USDA-created and -calculated set of market baskets cal ed the Thrifty Food Plan, a way to
determine the contents and therefore costs of meeting dietary needs under low resource
constraints.19
Table 2 displays, in the middle column, the temporary maximum benefit amounts for households
in 48 states and the District of Columbia based on household size, under this January-September
2021 increase.20 As discussed above, under the Trump Administration’s implementation of the
emergency al otments, especial y at the height of the pandemic, virtual y al SNAP participants
received this maximum benefit. During the Biden Administration, states with active emergency
al otments policies provided amounts greater than those displayed in the middle column.
(Increases displayed in the last column are discussed later in this section under “Thrifty Food
Plan Increase for FY2022.”)
The enacted law also requires USDA to carry out the temporary increase in particular ways,
al owing flexibility for states.21 For example, USDA is to require a simple process for states to
notify households of the increase, and errors in the implementation of this section are not to be
included in the calculation of a state’s payment error rate.

14 T he White House, “Fact Sheet: President Biden’s New Executive Actions Deliver Economic Relief for American
Families and Businesses Amid the COVID-19 Crises,” press release, January 22, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/
briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/22/fact-sheet-president -bidens-new-executive-actions-deliver-economic-
relief-for-american-families-and-businesses-amid-the-covid-19-crises/; U.S. Department of Agriculture, “ Biden
Administration Expands P -EBT to Benefit Millions of Low-Income and Food Insecure Children During Pandemic:
USDA Says SNAP Benefits Are Inadequate for Most Participants and Begins Process to Extend Emergency Allotments
to States and Update T hrifty Food Plan Formula,” press release, January 22, 2021, https://www.fns.usda.gov/news-
item/usda-001521.
15 USDA, FNS, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – Emergency Allotments, memo to All SNAP
State Agencies et al., April 1, 2021, https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resource-files/fns-determination-
regarding-enhanced-emergency-allotments.pdf.
16 See further details at USDA, FNS, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – Emergency Allotments,
memo to All SNAP State Agencies et al., April 1, 2021 , https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resource-files/fns-
determination-regarding-enhanced-emergency-allotments.pdf.
17 P.L. 116-260, Division N, T itle VII, §702(a).
18 P.L. 117-2, §1101(a), amending P.L. 116-260, Division N, T itle VII, §702(a).
19 See USDA, FNS, “SNAP and T he T hrifty Food Plan,” August 17, 2021, https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/
thriftyfoodplan.
20 Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands each have higher FY2021 benefit amounts and therefore higher
amounts under the temporary increase. USDA, FNS, SNAP-Tem porary Increase in Maxim um Allotm ents due to
COVID-19, Memo to All State Agencies, December 28, 2020, https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resource-
files/SNAP%20T emp%20Increase%20in%20Max%20Allotments%20COVID_12.28.20.pdf .
21 P.L. 116-260, Division N, T itle VII, §702(b).
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Table 2. SNAP Maximum Monthly Benefits Before, During, and After COVID-19
Pandemic Response Laws’ 15% Increase
48 States and the District of Columbia
FY2022 Maximum Benefit
FY2021 Maximum Benefit Maximum Benefit Under
(Thrifty Food
Before Increase
Temporary Increasek
Plan update)
Household
(October 1-December 31,
(January 1, 2021-
(October 1, 2021-
Size
2020)
September 30, 2021)
September 30, 2022)
1
$204
$234
$250
2
$374
$430
$459
3
$535
$616
$658
4
$680
$782
$835
5
$807
$929
$992
6
$969
$1,114
$1,190
7
$1,071
$1,232
$1,316
8
$1,224
$1,408
$1,504
Each additional
person
$153
$176
$188
Source: USDA, FNS, SNAP-Temporary Increase in Maximum Al otments due to COVID-19, Memo to Al State
Agencies, December 28, 2020, https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resource-files/SNAP %20Temp%20
Increase%20in%20Max%20Al otments%20COVID_12.28.20.pdf; USDA, FNS, SNAP – Fiscal Year 2022 Cost-of-
Living Adjustments, August 16, 2021, https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/fy-2022-cost-living-adjustments.
Notes: Alaska, Guam, Hawai , and the U.S. Virgin Islands each have higher FY2021 benefit amounts and
therefore higher amounts under the temporary increase. See the memo cited in the source for these benefit
amounts. FY2022 benefit amounts reflect the Administration’s recent (August 16, 2021) action re-evaluating the
“Thrifty Food Plan,” SNAP law’s basis for household benefit amounts.
a. Under April 2021 Biden Administration revised emergency al otments guidance, some households may
receive as much as $95 above these amounts.
Administrative Flexibilities
FFCRA al owed USDA to adjust (through guidance and based on states’ requests) administrative
requirements like benefit issuance and household reporting requirements.22 In initial y
implementing this provision, USDA offered and extended blanket waivers for states’
recertification requirements, providing additional flexibility on interview timelines, certification
periods, and protocols for the program’s Quality Control system, a state-federal system
established to measure payment accuracy in the program. Beginning in July and August 2020,
USDA declined states’ requests to continue these waivers.23
The FY2021 Continuing Appropriations Act required USDA to extend specified administrative
flexibilities, creating a variety of administrative flexibilities for states to operate SNAP,
particularly in recertifying currently participating households.24 Examples of these state options

22 P.L. 116-127, Division A, T itle I, §1101(b).
23 See, for example, Julie Zauzmer, “USDA will end coronavirus exception, making SNAP recipients prove their
income again to get food stamps,” Washington Post, July 31, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/
07/31/usda-will-end-coronavirus-exception-making-snap-recipients-prove-their-income-again-keep-getting-food-
stamps/.
24 P.L. 116-159, Division D, T itle VI, §4603(a).
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include extending certification periods for households whose SNAP benefits were set to expire on
or before June 30, 2021, and al owing simplified reporting requirements for SNAP households
with recertification set to expire on or before December 31, 2021. States are required to notify
USDA of their selected options, but the options are not subject to USDA approval. The provision
also authorized and appropriated open-ended mandatory funding for these policy changes.
Thrifty Food Plan Increase for FY2022
Separate from the implementation of the COVID-19 pandemic response laws discussed in this
report, on August 16, 2021, the Biden Administration announced its reevaluation of and update to
the Thrifty Food Plan, ultimately increasing benefits for FY2022 and future years.25 The
Administration’s plans to work on this were included in implementation of a January 2021
executive order.
The contents of the Thrifty Food Plan were last updated by USDA in 2006, and the 2018 farm bil
required USDA to reevaluate the Thrifty Food Plan by FY2022 and every five years thereafter.26
While the maximum benefit amounts were announced for FY2022 (displayed in Table 2),
sustained increases relative to FY2021 can be expected for future years, as the law states that this
new base is adjusted for inflation yearly. The Administration’s update wil increase the maximum
benefit, creating maximum benefit amounts slightly greater than those afforded during the 15%
increases in FY2021. USDA’s analysis estimates that the cost of this nutritious lowest-cost diet is
21% higher than that used in the current Thrifty Food Plan (i.e., the amounts pre-January 1,
2021). Some of the factors that explain the increase are the inclusion of more convenience foods,
higher caloric assumptions, and more nutrient-dense foods.27 The exact increase per person or per
household wil vary case-by-case. USDA estimates an average increase of over $36 per person
per month as compared to the maximum benefits in place prior to the pandemic response
increases.28
Excluding Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation from
SNAP Income
The FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act excluded Federal Pandemic Unemployment
Compensation (FPUC) payments from being counted as income or resources in SNAP
applications.29 It also provided the associated open-ended funding for benefit increases.
Many of the COVID-19 pandemic response laws contained expansions and extensions of
unemployment insurance.30 The SNAP exclusion in the FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act
applies to a portion of the payments, the “pandemic unemployment compensation” payments,

25 USDA, “USDA Modernizes the T hrifty Food Plan, Updates SNAP Benefits,” press release, August 16, 2021,
https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2021/08/16/usda-modernizes-thrifty-food-plan-updates-snap-benefits.
26 P.L. 115-334, §4002, amending Section 3(u) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (codified at 7 U.S.C. §2012(u).
27 USDA, FNS, Thrifty Food Plan, 2021, August 2021, pp. 34-35, https://www.fns.usda.gov/resource/thrifty-food-plan-
2021.
28 USDA, “USDA Modernizes the T hrifty food Plan, Updates SNAP Benefits,” press release, August 16, 2021,
https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2021/08/16/usda-modernizes-thrifty-food-plan-updates-snap-benefits.
29 P.L. 116-260, Division N, T itle VII, §702(d). FPUC is summarized in CRS In Focus IF11723, Unemployment
Insurance Provisions in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Division N, Title II, Subtitle A, the Continued
Assistance for Unem ployed Workers Act of 2020), by Katelin P. Isaacs and Julie M. Whittaker.
30 See the “Enacted Laws in the 116th Congress” section in CRS Report R45478, Unemployment Insurance: Legislative
Issues in the 116th Congress, by Julie M. Whittaker and Katelin P. Isaacs.
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which are the additional $300 per week provided under this law, and enacted earlier in the
CARES Act at $600 per week. Until the FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act, these
payments were counted as income for SNAP households. FPUC, under ARPA’s extension of the
program, continues to be excluded from SNAP income.31 Under current law, though, FPUC wil
not be payable after September 4, 2021.32
SNAP eligibility and benefit calculation is primarily determined using a household’s gross
income and, in some states, resources (also cal ed assets) are counted as wel . Gross income is al
household income with the exception of a limited list of income sources that are excluded in
statute. Prior to the change made by the FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act, al
unemployment insurance was counted as income in a household SNAP application. The change is
to expand SNAP eligibility for some, but not al , households receiving unemployment insurance
income.
SNAP Work-Related and Student Eligibility Rules
Work-Related Requirements
SNAP’s authorizing law has long included work-related eligibility requirements, the strictest
being a time limit for nondisabled adults (ages 18 to 49) without dependents (ABAWDs) who
work less than 80 hours per month.33 FFCRA partial y suspended this time limit nationwide
during the period of the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ public health emergency
declaration, al owing new and continuing participants who would have lost eligibility due to the
time limit to continue to receive benefits.34
Separately, on March 13, 2020, a federal court temporarily blocked part of a December 2019
USDA final rule that would have narrowed states’ authority to waive the time limit, and which
would have taken effect in part on April 1.35 The court acknowledged that the global pandemic
highlighted the need to provide government officials with flexibility to address their constituents’
nutritional needs “and ensure their wel -being through programs like SNAP.”36 Following the
preliminary injunction, on October 18, 2020, the court struck down the rule in its entirety.37 On
March 24, 2021, the Biden Administration announced that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.

31 See treatment of FPUC and other American Rescue Plan economic payments discussed in Jessica Shahin, SNAP
Provisions in the Am erican Rescue Plan Act of 2021 , USDA, FNS, Memo to SNAP State Agencies and Regions,
March 12, 2021, pp. 2-3 https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/provisions-american-rescue-plan-act-2021.
32 September 5, 2021, in New York. See CRS Report R46687, Current Status of Unemployment Insurance (UI)
Benefits: Perm anent-Law Program s and COVID-19 Pandem ic Response.
33 T ime limits are summarized in CRS Report R42505, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): A Primer
on Eligibility and Benefits.
34 P.L. 116-127, Division B, T itle III, §2301. FNS guidance, March 20, 2020, available at https://www.fns.usda.gov/
snap/ffcra-impact -time-limit-abawds. Regarding public health emergency background, see CRS Report R46219,
Overview of U.S. Dom estic Response to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
35 District of Columbia v. United States Dep't of Agric., 444 F. Supp. 3d, 1, 6-7 (D.D.C. 2020).
36 Ibid at 5.
37 District of Columbia, et al. v. United States Dep't of Agric., __ F. Supp. 3d __, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 192508 at 5 -
11 (D.D.C. Oct. 18, 2020). On December 16, 2020, the T rump Administration appealed the District Court decision (see
House Committee on Agriculture, “Fudge Slams Administration for Appealing ABAWD Ruling,” press release,
December 16, 2020, https://agriculture.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2069).
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Circuit has al owed it to withdraw the Trump Administration’s appeal; the Administration plans,
after the COVID-19 suspension, to return to long-standing time limit rules.38
Student Eligibility
Many students attending higher education less than half-time are also subject to the time limit for
non-disabled adults discussed above. During the pandemic, the suspension enacted by FFCRA
would apply to them. However, students of higher education attending half-time or greater are
subject to a different requirement, a student disqualification rule.39 Students working 20 hours or
more per week, or students meeting one of a list of other exceptions, may be eligible for SNAP
benefits;40 otherwise, students attending half-time or greater are not eligible for SNAP. FFCRA’s
suspension in March 2020 did not suspend the student disqualification rule, leaving the student
disqualification in place for students attending half-time or greater until the FY2021 Consolidated
Appropriations Act was passed in December.
The FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act then suspended the student disqualification rule for
certain students during the public health emergency.41 The suspension of the rule applies to
students enrolled at least half-time in an institution of higher education who
 are eligible to participate in a state or federal y financed work study program, or
 have an expected family contribution of $0 on their Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA).
These students would not be subject to the student disqualification rule, but would stil need to
meet SNAP’s other eligibility rules, such as income eligibility.
This provision also requires that the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Secretary of
Agriculture and institutions of higher education, carry out activities to inform students of these
temporary student eligibility requirements.
The law appropriates funding for the provision.
SNAP-Related Funding
For the most part, the SNAP provisions discussed above provide such sums as are necessary or
authorize an eligible purpose for funding in the SNAP account. Of the four COVID-19 pandemic
response laws, the CARES Act and FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act appropriated finite
sums of funding for SNAP. These are discussed below.
Funding provided to Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands is
discussed in the “Nutrition Assistance Funding for Certain Territories” section.

38 U.S. Department of Agriculture, “Statement by Agriculture Secretary T om Vilsack on D.C. Circuit Court’s Decision
Regarding ABAWDs Rule,” press release, March 24, 2021, https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2021/03/24/
statement -agriculture-secretary-tom-vilsack-dc-circuit-courts.
39 Section 6(e) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. §2015(e)).
40 Exceptions for students (1) under 18 years old or age 50 or older; (2) disabled; (3) enrolled in school because of
participation in specified programs; (4) employed at least 20 hours per week or participates in a work-study program
during the school year; (5) certain parent (based largely on age of the child); or (6) receiving T ANF benefits.
41 P.L. 116-260, Division N, T itle VII, §702(e). T he provision is in effect for initial applications until 30 days after the
COVID-19 public health emergency is lifted. It is in effect for recertification until no earlier than 30 days after the
COVID-19 public health emergency is lifted.
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Funds in the CARES Act
The CARES Act provided $15.8 bil ion for the SNAP account. This includes $15.5 bil ion in
contingency reserve for SNAP participation should earlier budget estimates be exceeded.
According to information provided by FNS, the $15.5 bil ion contingency was al obligated in
FY2020. The funds were primarily used to support providing the emergency al otments,
authorized in FFCRA, to SNAP households.42
Funds in the FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act and ARPA
 State administrative expenses. State administrative costs are typical y shared
50/50 between SNAP state agencies and the federal government. P.L. 116-260
provided $100 mil ion in federal funding for FY2021.43 This is 100% federal
funding and does not require a match. The provision al ocates the funds
according to a formula that considers primarily the state’s share of SNAP
households and secondarily the increase in the state’s SNAP participation over 12
months. ARPA added $1.15 bil ion to this funding.44 The funding is to be
obligated in FY2021, FY2022, and FY2023.
 Additional assistance for SNAP online purchasing and technological
improvements.45 Prior to the pandemic, FNS had begun to pilot online
redemption of SNAP benefits. In the first months of the pandemic, FNS
expanded the number of states able to participate in the pilot; for most of 2020,
large national retailers were able to take part. P.L. 116-260 provided $5 mil ion to
be split among three purposes: (1) additional support for FNS to test systems and
provide technical assistance to retailers; (2) cooperative agreements or grants to
provide assistance to direct-marketing farmers and farmers’ markets; and (3)
issuance innovation and technology improvement support (this includes
development work regarding the mobile technologies projects authorized by the
2014 farm bil and testing methods to modernize EBT).46 ARPA provided $25
mil ion to USDA, available through FY2026, for four purposes: (1) to make
technological improvements to SNAP online purchasing, (2) to modernize EBT
technology, (3) to support mobile technology projects, and (4) to provide
specified technical assistance to retailers.
 Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GuSNIP).47 This program,
administered by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA),
provides grants for SNAP bonus incentive projects as wel as fruit and vegetable
prescription programs. P.L. 116-260 provided an additional $75 mil ion for
GuSNIP, which USDA is authorized to use to reduce grantees’ match rate, waive
maximum grant amounts, and provide additional funding to ongoing grants.

42 Email communication with USDA, FNS, October 2020.
43 P.L. 116-260, Division N, T itle VII, §702(c).
44 P.L. 117-2, §1101(b).
45 P.L. 116-260, Division N, T itle VII, §703; P.L. 117-2, §1102.
46 Of the $5 million, no more than $1 million may be used for the first purpose and no more than $1 million may be
used for the second purpose.
47 P.L. 116-260, Division N, T itle VII, §755. For program background, see CRS Report R46538, Local and Urban
Food System s: Selected Farm Bill and Other Federal Program s.
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Nutrition Assistance Funding for Certain Territories
Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands, do not operate a SNAP
program. Instead, they operate programs funded by Nutrition Assistance Program block grants in
lieu of SNAP.48 Whereas SNAP is open-ended mandatory spending and can expand and contract
with economic need, these block grants are limited in their spending without supplemental
appropriations. The SNAP policies that expand eligibility or increase benefit amounts do not
apply to these territories—they apply to the states or territories that operate SNAP.
FFCRA provided $100 mil ion for grants to these territories for nutrition assistance “in response
to a COVID-19 public health emergency.”49
The CARES Act provided $200 mil ion for these territories’ nutrition programs.
The FY2021 Continuing Appropriations Act did not provide additional funding to the nutrition
assistance block grants. However, it did expand the definition of state in the Pandemic Electronic
Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program. Until this change, only jurisdictions operating SNAP had
been authorized and funded to operate the program (P-EBT is discussed further in the next
section).
The FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act provided $614 mil ion for USDA to fund nutrition
assistance in response to a COVID-19 public health emergency.50 The funds are available through
FY2021, and $14 mil ion is set aside for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
ARPA provided an additional $1 bil ion, with $30 mil ion set aside for Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands.51
Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT)
FFCRA established the new P-EBT program, and subsequent laws extended and expanded it.
According to USDA-FNS data, the program issued benefits to an average of 6.9 mil ion people
per month in March through September 2020 and cost $10.7 bil ion.52
Establishment of P-EBT
FFCRA created P-EBT as an option for states to provide a SNAP-like benefit, when a school is
closed five or more days, to households with children who would have received free or reduced-
price school meals if not for the closure.53 The new program was initial y authorized to operate
until September 30, 2020, though it was later extended.54

48 For program history, see Anne Peterson, Bryan Johnson, and Benjamin E. Moulton et al., Implementing
Supplem ental Nutrition Assistance Program in Puerto Rico: A Feasibility Study , USDA, FNS, June 2010, pp. 7-16,
https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/implementing-supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-puerto-rico-feasibility-study.
49 P.L. 116-127, Division A, T itle I, §1102.
50 P.L. 116-260, Division N, T itle VII, §704.
51 P.L. 117-2, §1103.
52 USDA, FNS, Keydata Report (September 2020 data), available at https://www.fns.usda.gov/data/january-keydata-
report -september-2020-data.
53 P.L. 116-127, Division A, T itle I, Section 1101.
54 T his program was last available in FY2010 (during the H1N1 flu pandemic), having been enacted in an FY2010
appropriations law (P.L. 111-80, §746). It was called P -SNAP in agency guidance at t hat time. However, unlike what is
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The benefit amount is equal to at least five days of free meal reimbursements per week. The
Trump Administration authorized this minimum five-day amount. The Biden Administration has
announced that it wil increase P-EBT benefit amounts by 15%.55 January 29, 2021, guidance
shows that the current Administration achieves this increase by including the cost of a free snack
reimbursement, raising the daily rate to $6.82 in the contiguous states.56
Like SNAP, households can use these benefits to purchase groceries at SNAP-authorized retailers.
FFCRA authorized this program for FY2020. FNS’s guidance on the program answers a variety
of questions about program operations.57 In order to identify eligible children and issue benefits,
the P-EBT program is typical y administered as a partnership between a state’s SNAP and child
nutrition agencies.
FFCRA authorized and appropriated open-ended funding for P-EBT. FNS interpreted the
provision as funding 100% of P-EBT benefits and 50% of state administrative costs.58 As
established, the program was only open to jurisdictions operating SNAP. As of July 10, 2020, 50
states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands were approved to operate P-EBT in
school year 2019-2020.59
P-EBT Extension and Expansion
Though the program expired September 30, 2020, it was extended shortly thereafter in the
FY2021 Continuing Appropriations Act.60 This law original y extended the program through
FY2021, and then ARPA removed date limits to the program, instead authorizing P-EBT for any
school year in which there is a COVID-19 public health emergency declaration.61 ARPA also
amended the program to al ow operation during summer months.
Among other changes, the FY2021 Continuing Appropriations Act expanded the program to
include
 schools with reduced attendance hours due to the pandemic (expanding the
program beyond only closed schools); and

happening during the current pandemic, no SNAP state agencies ever administered P -SNAP.
55 T he White House, “Fact Sheet: President Biden’s New Executive Actions Deliver Economic Relief for American
Families and Businesses Amid the COVID-19 Crises,” press release, January 22, 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/
briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/22/fact-sheet-president -bidens-new-executive-actions-deliver-economic-
relief-for-american-families-and-businesses-amid-the-covid-19-crises/; U.S. Department of Agriculture, “ Biden
Administration Expands P -EBT to Benefit Millions of Low-Income and Food Insecure Children During Pandemic:
USDA Says SNAP Benefits Are Inadequate for Most Participants and Begins Process to Extend Emergency Allotments
to States and Update T hrifty Food Plan Formula,” press release, January 22, 2021, https://www.fns.usda.gov/news-
item/usda-001521.
56 Jessica Shahin and Cindy Long, Pandemic EBT - State Plans for 2020-2021, USDA, FNS, Memo t o SNAP State
Agencies and Child Nutrition State Agencies, January 29, 2021, https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resource-
files/Pandemic%20EBT %20%E2%80%93%20State%20Plans%20for%202020-2021%20Schools%20and%20
Child%20Care%20January%202021%20Attachment%202%20Template.pdf. Guidance allows states to increase
benefits retroactively for school year 2020 -2021.
57 See FNS guidance at https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/state-guidance-coronavirus-pandemic-ebt-pebt.
58 See USDA, FNS, Pandemic EBT (P -EBT ) Questions and Answers, April 15, 2020.
59 Guam is the only SNAP-operating jurisdiction that had not been approved. Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the
Northern Mariana Islands receive block grants for nutrition assistance in lieu of SNAP. FNS has interpreted the FFCRA
provision, as originally enacted, as only applying to SNAP jurisdictions.
60 P.L. 116-159, Division D, T itle VI, Section 4601.
61 P.L. 117-2, §1108, amending P.L. 116-127, §1101.
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 children in SNAP households enrolled in child care facilities affected by
pandemic closures and reduced hours, as specified in the law.
The FY2021 Continuing Appropriations Act also amended the definition of state in the P-EBT
provisions to include Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. ARPA
elaborated that young children participating in these programs are also eligible for the child care
expansion.
Following the initial extension and expansion of the program, the FY2021 Consolidated
Appropriations Act included program flexibilities to simplify administration of the potential
expansions beyond closed schools and to young children.62 The law al ows states to deem
children under six years old in households receiving SNAP benefits as enrolled in covered child
care facilities. Also, the law al ows for states to use “best feasibly available” data to determine
school closures and reduced attendance. The Biden Administration published guidance for state
plans, including guidance for implementing the expanded options for the FY2021 Consolidated
Appropriations Act.63
As of August 5, 2021, according to the FNS website, 49 states, the District of Columbia (DC),
Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands were
approved to operate P-EBT for school year 2020-2021. Thirty-five states, DC, and Puerto Rico
have been approved to operate Summer P-EBT.64
Child Nutrition Programs
The federal child nutrition programs include the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and
School Breakfast Program (SBP) (together, the school meals programs), the Summer Food
Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) (together, the summer meals
programs), and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), among others.65 The pandemic
response for these programs has included an expansion of USDA’s ability to waive child nutrition
program requirements, the temporary ability for providers to serve free meals to al c hildren, and
a new program to cover financial losses for meal providers.
Overview of Changes to Existing Programs and Waiver Authorities
When schools started closing in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many school
districts and nonprofit organizations began operating the summer meals programs, which, per
existing program regulations and guidance, could operate during “unanticipated school closures”
between October and April with state agency approval (USDA subsequently waived this

62 P.L. 116-260, Division N, T itle VII, §721.
63 Resources available at USDA, FNS, “State Guidance on Coronavirus Pandemic EBT (P -EBT ),”
https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/state-guidance-coronavirus-pandemic-ebt-pebt.
64 Ibid.
65 For background on child nutrition programs, see CRS Report R46234, School Meals and Other Child Nutrition
Program s: Background and Funding.
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requirement for school year 2020-2021).66 Other school districts continued operating the school
meals programs, which USDA clarified could operate during periods of virtual learning.67
Also starting in March 2020, USDA issued waivers of certain child nutrition program
requirements in response to the pandemic. For example, one of the first waivers USDA issued
was to suspend the requirement that children consume meals in group settings.68 USDA issued
some of these initial waivers using authority under Section 12(l) of the Richard B. Russel
National School Lunch Act (codified at 42 U.S.C. §1760(l)), which gives USDA the authority to
approve waiver requests from state agencies and institutions on a case-by-case basis.69
On March 11, 2020, FFCRA expanded the types of child nutrition program waivers that USDA is
al owed to issue during the pandemic:
 Section 2102 of FFCRA al ows USDA to grant waivers that increase federal costs
for the purpose of providing meals and snacks during a COVID-19 pandemic-
related school closure. There is no specific expiration date for this authority.
 Section 2202 of FFCRA al ows USDA to issue waivers on a nationwide (rather
than individual state or provider) basis, al ows USDA to waive nutritional
requirements in child nutrition programs if there is a food “supply chain
disruption” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and specifies that USDA may grant
waivers to al ow non-congregate feeding in CACFP. The waiver authority under
Section 2202 was original y set to expire on September 30, 2020, but was
extended by the FY2021 Continuing Appropriations Act through September 30,
2021.70
USDA has used the authority under FFCRA to issue a number of waivers during the pandemic.71
One of these—the area eligibility waiver—al ows school districts and nonprofits to serve free
meals to al children (without eligibility determinations) through the Summer Food Service
Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) (which is normal y only al owed in areas
where at least 50% of children qualify for F/RP meals).72 The Trump Administration made this

66 For SFSP periods of operation, see, for example, 7 C.F.R. §§225.6(b)(4) and 225.14(a). For SSO periods of
operation, see USDA, FNS, “Comparison of Programs: SFSP/NSLP/Seamless Option,” January 22, 2015, https://fns-
prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/SFSP_SeamlessComparisonChart.pdf. If a school meets the definition of having a
continuous school calendar (7 C.F.R. §225.2), then SFSP or SSO may be operated during an unanticipated school
closure at any time of the year with state agency approval. T he summer meal programs normally operate between May
and September for children on school vacation. USDA, FNS, “ Nationwide Waiver to Allow SFSP and Seamless
Summer Option Operations through SY 2020 -2021–Extension,” October 9, 2020, https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/covid-
19-response-59.
67 USDA, FNS, “ COVID-19 Congregate Meal Waivers & Q&As on Summer Meal Deliv ery Using Existing
Authority,” April 4, 2020, https://www.fns.usda.gov/sfsp/covid-19/covid-19-meal-delivery.
68 Ibid.
69 Section 12(l) prohibits certain types of waivers, including waivers that increase federal costs, relate to the nutritional
content of meals served, and/or relate to the provision of free and reduced price meals.
70 P.L. 116-159, Division D, T itle VI, §4602(a).
71 For a list of child nutrition program waivers that USDA has issued during the pandemic, see USDA FNS, “ Child
Nutrition COVID-19 Waivers,” https://www.fns.usda.gov/programs/fns-disaster-assistance/fns-responds-covid-19/
child-nutrition-covid-19-waivers.
72 USDA, FNS, “COVID–19: Child Nutrition Response #77,” FNS-GD-2021-0017, March 9, 2021,
https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/covid-19-child-nutrition-response-77.
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option available to al states starting on May 6, 2020, and continued the option through school
year 2020-2021.73
For school year 2021-2022, the Biden Administration announced that school districts in states that
opt into the waiver may choose to operate under a different policy; specifical y, they may choose
to operate SSO through June 30, 2022, serve free meals to al children without eligibility
determinations, and receive the higher SFSP reimbursement rates.74 School districts are not
required to participate under the SSO waiver, and may instead choose to operate NSLP and/or
SBP, which require eligibility determinations for F/RP meals. School districts that choose to
operate NSLP/SBP in school year 2021-2022 wil receive the NSLP/SBP reimbursement rates.
USDA has also issued national waivers of requirements that meals be served at certain times of
day, rules that meals be served to children (enabling parents/guardians to pick up meals), and
nutritional requirements for meals, among issuing other waivers.75 Many of these waivers have
pertained to multiple child nutrition programs.
Supplemental Funding for Child Nutrition Programs
In addition to policy changes, the COVID-19 pandemic response laws have provided
supplemental funding for child nutrition programs. In March 2020, the CARES Act provided an
$8.8 bil ion supplemental appropriation for these programs.76 FNS al ocated CARES Act funds to
states in proportion to their share of total child nutrition program reimbursements in the prior
year.77 States spent $7.0 bil ion of such funds on meal reimbursements in FY2020 and carried
over approximately $1.8 bil ion into FY2021.78 In addition, the FY2021 Continuing
Appropriations Act provided “such sums as may be necessary” for child nutrition waivers issued
under Section 2202 of FFCRA.79
New Program to Cover Financial Losses of School District and
Child Care Meal Providers
The FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act provided “such sums as are necessary” for a
program to cover financial losses experienced by some child nutrition program providers during

73 USDA, FNS, “Nationwide Waiver to Extend Area Eligibility Waivers–Extension 3,” October 9, 2020,
https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/covid-19-response-60; and USDA, FNS, “ COVID–19: Child Nutrition Response #73,”
FNS-GD-2021-0013, March 9, 2021, https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/covid-19-child-nutrition-response-73.
74 CRS communication with FNS in June 2021; USDA, FNS, “Nationwide Waiver to Allow the Seamless Summer
Option through School Year 2021-2022,” Child Nutrition Response #85, April 20, 2021, https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/
child-nutrition-response-85; and USDA, FNS, “ Nationwide Waiver to Allow Summer Food Service Program
Reimbursement Rates in School Year 2021 -2022,” Child Nutrition Response #86, April 20, 2021,
https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/child-nutrition-response-86. For more information on SSO’s rules, see CRS In Focus
IF11633, Sum mer Meals for Children: An Overview of Federal Aid .
75 USDA, FNS, “ Child Nutrition COVID-19 Waivers,” https://www.fns.usda.gov/programs/fns-disaster-assistance/fns-
responds-covid-19/child-nutrition-covid-19-waivers.
76 P.L. 116-136, Division B, T itle I.
77 CRS correspondence with FNS in June 2021.
78 USDA, FNS, “FY2022 USDA Explanatory Notes – Food and Nutrition Service,” p. 34-129, https://www.usda.gov/
sites/default/files/documents/34FNS2022Notes.pdf.
79 P.L. 116-159, Division D, T itle VI, §4602(d). According to CRS communication with FNS in August 2021, the
agency has not used this authority to fund waivers in FY2020 or FY2021.
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the early months of the pandemic.80 Specifical y, the program is to reimburse 27.5% of the
difference between meal reimbursements in March 2019 and March 2020 and 55% of the
difference between reimbursements in April, May, and June 2019 and the same months in 2020
for providers participating in the school meals programs and/or CACFP.81 States may opt in to the
program and participating state agencies are al owed to retain 1% of funds for administrative
costs. The law required USDA to issue guidance implementing the program within 30 days of
enactment.82
Temporary Funding for Meals Served to Young Adults at CACFP
Emergency Shelters
ARPA temporarily al ows homeless shelters participating in CACFP to receive federal
reimbursements for meals and snacks served to individuals ages 19 through 24 during the
COVID-19 public health emergency.83 Normal y, CACFP emergency shelters are reimbursed for
meals and snacks served to children ages 18 and under.84 This policy applies both to emergency
shelters participating in regular CACFP (for young adults residing at the shelter) and/or the
CACFP At-Risk Afterschool component (for young adults residing at or receiving assistance from
the shelter).85
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Supplemental Appropriation
FFCRA provided a $500 mil ion supplemental appropriation, available through FY2021, for
WIC. FNS did not obligate these funds in FY2020 because WIC had an unal ocated balance of
prior-year unspent funds that could be used to support the program in FY2020.86
Waivers
In addition, FFCRA gave USDA further authority to grant waivers al owing WIC participants to
get certified (or recertified) without being physical y present at the WIC clinic (which is normal y
required).87 Waiver requests are to be made by state agencies to USDA. Also, FFCRA authorized
USDA to grant waivers from program administrative requirements that a state determines “cannot

80 P.L. 116-260, Division N, T itle VII, §722.
81 T he program establishes an alternative process for new providers with no reimbursement data for 2019.
82 USDA, FNS, “ Child Nutrition Program Emergency Operating Costs During COVID-19: Implementation Guidance
for State Agencies,” January 26, 2021, https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/emergency-operating-costs-during-covid-19-
implementation-guidance.
83 P.L. 117-2, §1107.
84 For more information on CACFP emergency shelters, see USDA, FNS, “Child and Adult Care Food Program:
Emergency Shelters,” https://www.fns.usda.gov/cacfp/emergency-shelters.
85 For more information on CACFP, see CRS Report R46234, School Meals and Other Child Nutrition Programs:
Background and Funding.
86 CRS correspondence with FNS, October 2020.
87 P.L. 116-127, Division B, T itle II, §2203.
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be met due to COVID-19” and are “necessary to provide assistance” under WIC.88 USDA’s
authority to issue these and the physical presence waivers was initial y scheduled to sunset after
September 30, 2020.
For implementation, USDA provided a wide variety of waiver opportunities to states, including
waivers from physical presence and supplemental food package item flexibility. On September
21, 2020 (in advance of the authority’s sunset), USDA announced that it was extending certain
waivers for the duration of the public health emergency.89
Shortly thereafter, the FY2021 Continuing Appropriations Act included an extension of the
FFCRA waiver authorities through September 30, 2021, and provided open-ended funding
authority for the waivers.90
Task Force
The FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act required USDA to establish a task force on
supplemental foods delivery in WIC.91 The task force, with certain representations specified, is to
study measures “to streamline the redemption of supplemental food benefits that promote
convenience, safety, and equitable access.” These include online and telephonic ordering with
curbside pickup and payment; and online and telephonic purchasing, home delivery, and self
checkout. The task force is required to convey its findings and recommendations to the Secretary
of Agriculture by September 30, 2021.
Temporary Increases to Cash Value Vouchers
Non-infant WIC participants receive a cash value voucher, redeemable for fruits and vegetables,
as part of their WIC food package. ARPA authorizes an increase for these vouchers.92 Under prior
regulation, WIC participants receive $9 per month per child and $11 per month for mothers.93
During the COVID-19 public health emergency, the ARPA provision authorizes USDA to
approve state requests for increasing the voucher up to $35 for a four-month period. ARPA
authorizes and appropriates $490 mil ion for this purpose, available through FY2022.
Funding for Program Modernization
ARPA authorizes and appropriates $390 mil ion for USDA “to carry out outreach, innovation, and
program modernization efforts, including appropriate waivers and flexibility, to increase
participation in and redemption of benefits under programs in WIC.” Funds are available through
FY2024 and waivers are not al owed to WIC food package and nondiscrimination regulations.
The funding is not contingent on the public health emergency.

88 P.L. 116-127, Division B, T itle II, §2204.
89 USDA, FNS, “ USDA Extends WIC COVID-19 Flexibilities for Duration of the COVID-19 Public Health
Emergency,” news release, September 21, 2020, https://www.fns.usda.gov/news-item/usda-038020.
90 P.L. 116-159, Division D, T itle VI, §4602.
91 P.L. 116-260, Division N, T itle VII, §723.
92 P.L. 117-2, §1105.
93 See USDA, FNS, Increase in the Cash Value Voucher for Pregnant, Postpartum, and Breastfeeding Women, Memo
to All State Agencies, All Regions, et al., June 25, 2015, https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/increase-cash-value-voucher-
pregnant -postpartum-and-breastfeeding-women.
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Food Distribution Programs
The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)
TEFAP provides federal y purchased foods and administrative funds to states for distribution to
emergency feeding organizations, including food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens.94
In addition to its usual sources of funding,95 TEFAP received additional funding to respond to the
COVID-19 pandemic under four pandemic response laws:
 FFCRA provided $400 mil ion for TEFAP, up to $100 mil ion of which can be
used for food distribution costs, available through FY2021 (September 30,
2021);96
 the CARES Act provided $450 mil ion for TEFAP, up to $150 mil ion of which
can be used for food distribution costs, available through FY2021;97
 the FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act provided a supplemental
appropriation of $400 mil ion for TEFAP, up to 20% of which ($80 mil ion) can
be used for food distribution costs, available through FY2021.98 The FY2021
Consolidated Appropriations Act also provided funding for USDA to, among
other purposes, “purchase and distribute agricultural products … to individuals in
need, including through delivery to nonprofit organizations that can receive,
store, and distribute food items” (available until expended “to prevent, prepare
for, and respond to coronavirus”).99 Using this authority, USDA al ocated $500
mil ion for TEFAP as of the date of this report.100
 ARPA provided funding for USDA to, among other purposes, “purchase and
distribute agricultural commodities … to individuals in need, including through
delivery to nonprofit organizations and through restaurants and other food-related
entities, as determined by the Secretary, that may receive, store, process, and
distribute food items” (available in FY2021).101 Using this authority, USDA
al ocated $500 mil ion for TEFAP as of the date of this report.102

94 For background on T EFAP, see CRS Report R45408, The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP):
Background and Funding.
95 Ibid (see “T able 1. T EFAP Funding, FY2021”).
96 P.L. 116-127, Division A, T itle I.
97 P.L. 116-136, Division B, T itle I.
98 P.L. 116-260, Division N, T itle VII, §711.
99 P.L. 116-260, Division N, T itle VII, §751.
100 USDA, “USDA to Invest $1 Billion to Purchase Healthy Food for Food Insecure Americans and Build Food Bank
Capacity,” June 4, 2021, https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2021/06/04/usda-invest-1-billion-purchase-
healthy-food-food-insecure-americans.
101 P.L. 117-2, §1001.
102 USDA, “USDA to Invest $1 Billion to Purchase Healthy Food for Food Insecure Americans and Build Food Bank
Capacity,” June 4, 2021, https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2021/06/04/usda-invest-1-billion-purchase-
healthy-food-food-insecure-americans.
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FNS al ocated supplemental FFCRA and CARES Act funds in FY2020 using the state al ocation
formula specified in TEFAP regulations.103 States carried $197.1 mil ion in FFCRA funds and
$81.2 mil ion in CARES Act funds over into FY2021.104
Likewise, the $400 mil ion supplemental appropriation for TEFAP in the FY2021 Consolidated
Appropriations Act was al ocated according to TEFAP’s state al ocation formula.105 As of the date
of this report, details on the al ocation of the additional $500 mil ion in FY2021 Consolidated
Appropriations Act funds and $500 mil ion in ARPA funds that USDA programmed for TEFAP
are not available. According to a USDA announcement, these funds are intended to support the
Biden Administration’s “Build Back Better” initiative and wil be used for (1) entitlement food
purchases, with priority for smal , women-owned, minority-owned, and veteran-owned
businesses and to continue a fresh produce box initiative announced earlier in the year106; (2)
cooperative agreements with state and tribal governments or other local entities to purchase local
and regional foods and foods from social y disadvantaged producers; and (3) infrastructure grants
for emergency feeding organizations, with an emphasis on those in “underserved communities
and communities of color.”107
In addition to al ocating supplemental funding, during the pandemic, FNS has issued guidance
explaining options that states have under current law to adjust program rules, such as expanding
eligibility rules for participants and waiving signature requirements for the receipt of TEFAP
foods.108
Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)
The CARES Act provided $100 mil ion to the FDPIR, of which $50 mil ion was for facility
improvements and equipment upgrades and $50 mil ion was for the costs related to additional
food purchases.
In FY2020, FNS awarded over $40 mil ion in grants for facility improvements and equipment
upgrades to 97 Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) and state agencies (SAs) that administer

103 For T EFAP’s state allocation formula, see 7 C.F.R. §251.3(h) or the “State Allocation Formula” section of CRS
Report R45408, The Em ergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP): Background and Funding. For USDA’s guidance
on the distribution of supplemental funds in FY2020, see USDA, FNS, “ Additional Information on FY 2020 Funding
Sources for T EFAP,” June 12, 2020, https://www.fns.usda.gov/tefap/additional-information-fy-2020-funding-sources;
USDA, FNS, “T he Emergency Food Assistance Program (T EFAP): Allocation of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security Act Supplemental Appropriations,” April 24, 2020; and USDA, FNS, “2020 T EFAP FFCRA
Allocation Worksheet,” April 17, 2020, https://www.fns.usda.gov/disaster/pandemic/covid-19/tefap-ffcra-allocation-
worksheet .
104 CRS correspondence with FNS in June 2021. For more information on total T EFAP funding in FY2021, see CRS
Report R45408, The Em ergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP): Background and Funding.
105 USDA, FNS, “Fiscal Year 2021 Food and Administrative Funding for T he Emergency Food Assistance Program,”
February 16, 2021, https://www.fns.usda.gov/tefap/fiscal-year-2021-funding; and USDA, FNS, “ FY2022 USDA
Explanatory Notes – Food and Nutrition Service,” p. 34-129, https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/
34FNS2022Notes.pdf.
106 USDA, FNS, “T EFAP Fresh Produce,” March 30, 2021, https://www.fns.usda.gov/tefap/fresh-produce.
107 USDA, “USDA to Invest $1 Billion to Purchase Healthy Food for Food Insecure Americans and Build Food Bank
Capacity,” June 4, 2021, https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2021/06/04/usda-invest-1-billion-purchase-
healthy-food-food-insecure-americans.
108 USDA, FNS, “ Questions and Answers related to COVID-19 and the Emergency Food Assistance Program
(T EFAP),” May 22, 2020, https://www.fns.usda.gov/tefap/covid-19-qas.
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FDPIR.109 These grants were awarded for purposes such as changes to physical space to
accommodate social distancing and computer system upgrades to accommodate remote work.
Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP)
In addition to the annual funding provided, the FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act
included $13 mil ion in supplemental funding for CSFP, available through FY2021.110 Up to 20%
of the funding is available for state administrative expenses.
ARPA provided $37 mil ion for CSFP, to remain available through FY2022.111
Other USDA Initiatives
In addition to using existing nutrition assistance programs, USDA carried out two new programs
to feed people during the COVID-19 pandemic: the Farmers to Families Food Box program,
which provided food boxes to individuals and households, and the Emergency Meals to You
program, which provided food boxes to households with school-aged children. Both programs
used funding provided in the COVID-19 pandemic response laws (discussed further below). FNS
also activated Disaster Household Distribution programs in certain states and tribal nations during
the early months of the pandemic.
Farmers to Families Food Box Program
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), in consultation with FNS, operated the Farmers
to Families Food Box program from May 2020 to May 2021.112
On April 17, 2020, USDA announced a Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to provide
direct relief to farmers and ranchers for lost commodities markets.113 A smal er part of CFAP was
a new program, the Farmers to Families Food Box program, to facilitate the distribution of in-
kind foods to households during the pandemic. Specifical y, the program provided fresh fruits and
vegetables, dairy, and meat products from local and regional suppliers to public and nonprofit
organizations, including food banks, schools, tribal organizations, and faith-based
organizations.114 The stated goals of the program were to expedite federal y sponsored food
deliveries to food banks and other feeding organizations and to “sel food previously destined for
restaurants and bulk purchasers to distributors, preventing waste.”115

109 USDA, FNS, “USDA Foods from Farm to Plate: FDPIR Connection,” e-bulletin, October 2020.
110 P.L. 116-260, Division N, T itle VII, §712.
111 P.L. 117-2, §1104.
112 USDA, AMS, “ Farmers to Families Food Box,” https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/farmers-to-
families-food-box, accessed on August 3, 2021.
113 For more information on the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, see CRS Report R46347, COVID-19, U.S.
Agriculture, and USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) ; and CRS Report R46348, COVID-19:
Supply Chain Disruptions in the U.S. Fruit and Vegetable Industry: In Brief.
114 USDA, “ USDA Announces Coronavirus Food Assistance Program,” April 17, 2020, https://www.usda.gov/media/
press-releases/2020/04/17/usda-announces-coronavirus-food-assistance-program.
115 USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), “ Farmers to Families Food Box Infographic,”
https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/FarmerstoFamiliesFoodBox.pdf; USDA, AMS webinar on April
21, 2020, recording available at https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/farmers-to-families-food-box.
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Unlike other USDA nutrition assistance programs, state agencies did not play a direct role in the
administration of the Farmers to Families Food Box program.116 Instead, USDA’s Agricultural
Marketing Service (AMS) awarded contracts directly to suppliers through a solicitation process.
According to the terms of the contracts, suppliers packaged products into “family-sized boxes”
and distributed the boxes to food banks and other recipient organizations selected by the
supplier.117 Recipient organizations were nonprofits with 501(c)(3) tax exemption status or local
government agencies that could “demonstrate that they have the operational and financial
capability to receive, store and distribute requested food items.”118 Nonprofit recipients also
agreed to serve only “needy people, or the food insecure population.”119 Contents of the boxes
differed over time, but included fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products, fluid milk, precooked
meats (initial y pork and poultry, and later beef and seafood), or a combination of these items.120
The Biden Administration ended the Farmers to Families Food Box program on May 31, 2021.121
Over the course of the program, USDA al ocated approximately $6 bil ion on five separate rounds
of contracts and deliveries. That includes $4 bil ion in funding for the first three rounds of the
program funded under FFCRA, which gave the Secretary of Agriculture “such amounts as are
necessary” to “purchase commodities for emergency distribution in any area of the United States
during a public health emergency designation” in FY2020.122 Actual expenditures were closer to
$3.57 bil ion, which funded 120.5 mil ion food boxes distributed between May 2020 and October
31, 2020.123 On October 23, 2020, USDA announced $500 mil ion for a fourth round of awards
under the program for deliveries through December 31, 2020, funded with unobligated funds
from the CARES Act.124 Actual expenditures for the fourth round were approximately $463
mil ion, which funded 12.4 mil ion food boxes.125 The fifth round of the program, announced on

116 See CRS Report R42353, Domestic Food Assistance: Summary of Programs.
117 USDA, AMS, “ Farmers to Families Food Box,” https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/farmers-to-
families-food-box, accessed on August 3, 2021.
118 USDA, AMS, “ Farmers to Families Food Box Program FAQs,” April 27, 2020, https://www.ams.usda.gov/
publications/content/farmers-families-food-box-program-faqs.
119 USDA, AMS, Solicitation 12-3J14-20-B-0588, p. 30, https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/FFFB_
solicitationRound3.pdf.
120 USDA, AMS, Solicitation AG-12-3J14-20-R-0377, April 24, 2020, p. 5, https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/
files/media/RFP_ERAcquisition.pdf; USDA, “ USDA Announces Continuation of the Farmers to Families Food Box
Program, Fifth Round of Food Purchases,” January 4, 2021, https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2021/01/04/
usda-announces-continuation-farmers-families-food-box-program-fifth.
121 USDA, AMS, “ Farmers to Families Food Box,” https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/farmers-to-
families-food-box, accessed on August 3, 2021. T he Administration also communicated its intentions to apply “ lessons
learned” from the food box program into future activities, including announcing a fresh produce box option through
T EFAP.
122 P.L. 116-127, Division A, T itle I, §1101(g). Section 1108 of ARPA subsequently reauthorized open-ended funding
under Section 1101(g) of FFCRA for USDA to purchase and distribute commodities during a public health emergency.
USDA, AMS, “Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA); Purchase of Fruit, Vegetable, Dairy, and Meat Products Due to
COVID-19 National Emergency-USDA Food Box Distribution Program,” 85 Federal Register 23325, April 27, 2020,
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/04/27/2020-08979/notice-of-funds-availability-nofa-purchase-of-
fruit-vegetable-dairy-and-meat -products-due-to.
123 Data as of January 11, 2021. USDA, AMS, “ Farmers to Families Food Box,” https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-
food-to-usda/farmers-to-families-food-box, accessed on August 3, 2021.
124 USDA, “USDA Announces Fourth Round of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program,” Release No. 0429.20,
October 23, 2020, https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2020/10/23/usda-announces-fourth-round-farmers-
families-food-box-program. According to CRS correspondence with AMS on November 19, 2020, the fourth round of
purchases is funded from unobligated funds under the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136), Division B, Agricultural Programs,
Office of the Secretary that were previously available for payments to farmers in another part of the CFAP .
125 USDA AMS, “ Farmers to Families Food Box,” https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/farmers-to-families-
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January 4, 2021, used $1.4 bil ion in FY2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act funds and
sponsored deliveries through the end of May 2021.126
Emergency Meals to You
FNS created and operated the Emergency Meals to You program from March 2020 to August
2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.127 Modeled off the Summer Meals-to-You
demonstration, the Emergency Meals to You program worked with private partners (Baylor
University’s Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, McLane Global, and PepsiCo) to mail food
boxes to children in participating school districts in rural areas nationwide who would normal y
receive free or reduced-price school meals but were not receiving them due to an emergency
school closure.128 School districts were eligible to participate in Emergency Meals to You if they
(1) participated in the NSLP, (2) had at least 50% of students qualified for free or reduced-priced
meals (or participated in the Community Eligibility Provision [CEP]), (3) were closed for at least
four weeks, and (4) were located in a rural area.129 Households with eligible children that signed
up for the program were to receive a box containing 10 breakfasts and 10 lunches, including a
combination of shelf-stable items, every two weeks by mail.130 Total expenditures were
approximately $123 mil ion, which FNS said funded more than 40 mil ion meals delivered to
approximately 400,000 children across the United States.131
Disaster Household Distribution
During a presidential y declared disaster or emergency, states may be able to repurpose existing
local inventories of USDA Foods intended for other nutrition assistance programs (e.g., TEFAP
and NSLP) for disaster/emergency feeding efforts.132 Under one program option, Disaster
Household Distribution, USDA may approve requests from states and tribes to repurpose USDA

food-box, accessed on August 3, 2021.
126 USDA, “ USDA Announces Continuation of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, Fifth Round of Food
Purchases,” January 4, 2021, https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2021/01/04/usda-announces-continuation-
farmers-families-food-box-program-fifth. T he funding authority for the fifth round of purchases was P.L. 116-260,
Division N, T itle VII, §751; expenditures as provided by USDA, AMS, on August 4, 2021.
127 According to FNS, the Emergency Meals to You demonstration was established using authority from Section 749(g)
of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Age ncies Appropriations Act,
2010 (P.L. 111-80) and Section 2202(a) of FFCRA (P.L. 116-127). CRS correspondence with USDA, FNS, on July 24,
2020. For a list of school districts that participated in Emergency Meals to You by state, see Mealstoyou.org,
“Emergency Meals-to-You School Districts,” https://mealstoyou.org/emergency-meals-to-you-school-districts-2/.
128 USDA, “ USDA Meals to You Partnership Delivers Nearly 30 Million Meals,” July 16, 2020,
https://www.fns.usda.gov/news-item/usda-032420; USDA, FNS, “ Meals to You Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs),”
https://mealstoyou.org/emtyfaqs/. For more information on the Summer Meals-to-You program, see CRS In Focus
IF11633, Sum mer Meals for Children: An Overview of Federal Aid .
129 Ibid.
130 Sample items include “Protein: Milk, Chicken Salad, Hummus, Beef Stick, Bean Dip, Cheese, Sunflower Kernels;
Whole Grains: T ortilla Chips, Corn Chips, Crackers, Oatmeal Bars, Cereal; Vegetables: Salsa Cup, Marinara Cup,
100% Veg/Fruit Juice; Fruit: Applesauce, Raisins, Craisins, Fruit Cup, 100% Fruit Juice.”
131 CRS correspondence with FNS in February 2021; USDA, “ Secretary Perdue Applauds USDA’s 2020
Accomplishments,” December 16, 2020, https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2020/12/16/secretary-perdue-
applauds-usdas-2020-accomplishments.
132 For more information on Disaster Household Distribution and related USDA emergency food distribution options,
see CRS Report R46432, Food Banks and Other Em ergency Feeding Organizations: Federal Aid and the Response to
COVID-19.
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USDA Nutrition Assistance Programs: Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Foods for direct distribution to households in areas affected by an emergency or disaster.133
USDA later replenishes or reimburses federal nutrition assistance programs for USDA Foods
reprogrammed for disaster/emergency feeding during a presidential y declared disaster or
emergency.134 Disaster Household Distribution facilitates faster distribution to households by
reducing administrative requirements (e.g., removing eligibility determinations); however, it
temporarily results in lower USDA Foods inventory for other federal nutrition assistance
programs.
Following the presidential emergency declaration for COVID-19, USDA approved requests from
21 states, Guam, and 33 tribal nations to operate Disaster Household Distribution programs
during the early months of the pandemic.135 These approvals had different timeframes but
typical y ended by July 2020.

Author Information

Randy Alison Aussenberg
Kara Clifford Billings
Specialist in Nutrition Assistance Policy
Analyst in Social Policy

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should n ot be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or
material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to
copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

133 7 C.F.R. §250.69; USDA, FNS, Food Distribution Division, “USDA Foods Program Disaster Manual,” revised
September 2017, https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/fdd/disaster-manual.pdf.
134 7 C.F.R. §250.69(g).
135 USDA, FNS, “ Disaster Household Distribution,” June 11, 2020, https://www.fns.usda.gov/usda-foods/covid-19-
disaster-household-distribution.
Congressional Research Service
R46681 · VERSION 6 · UPDATED
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