Using USDA Food Products: Partner Agency Manual

Using USDA Food Products: Partner Agency Manual

What is the USDA? The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food. It aims to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers, promote agricultural trade and production, work to assure food safety, protect natural resources, foster rural communities and end hunger in the United States and abroad. What is TEFAP? The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is a Federal program that helps supplement the diets of low- income needy persons, including elderly people, by providing them with emergency food and nutrition assistance. USDA buys the food, and ships it to the States. The amount received by Tennessee depends on its low- income and unemployed population. State agencies work out details of administration and distribution. Local organizations, including Second Harvest Food Bank, distribute the food to soup kitchens and food pantries that directly serve the public. USDA food products are also referred to as commodities. Eligibility for Food Pantry Clients The State of Tennessee sets criteria for determining what households are eligible to receive food for home consumption. Income standards may be met through participation in other existing Federal, State, or local food, health, or welfare programs for which eligibility is based on income. Or, the client can declare their family s income. If that income falls at or below the income guidelines, they are eligible to receive USDA food. USDA food is distributed by household, not individual. If four members of a household come to the pantry together, only one person puts their name on this chart and they receive the USDA foods together as a household. Each individual in the same household cannot fill out this form. Clients are eligible to receive USDA foods no more than once per month from any food pantry. 2

Eligibility for Soup Kitchen Clients Recipients of prepared meals at soup kitchens are considered to be needy and are not subject to a means test or income guidelines. Food Storage USDA food products must be kept on shelves separate from the other food pantry foods. These shelves must be labeled USDA. This includes dry storage areas as well as refrigerators and freezers. Foods in a pantry must be stored at least 4 inches off the floor and away from walls. Use a FIFO (first in first out) plan to distribute the oldest foods first. USDA foods should be distributed within about a month s time of receiving them. In other words, only order as much USDA product from Second Harvest as you can use in one month. Civil Rights All food pantries, soup kitchens, and mobile pantries distributing USDA products are required to display the And Justice For All civil rights poster. Second Harvest Food Bank can provide copies of the poster. Posters in English and several other languages can also be downloaded here: http://www.fns.usda.gov/cr/justice.htm Civil Rights Statement In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office Of Civil Rights, Room 326- W, Whitten building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 3

Monthly Inventory Report All partner agencies receiving USDA products must fill out the Monthly Inventory Report form. While the sheet is based on a month s timeframe, it does not have to be from the 1 st day of the month to the last day of the month. Partner agencies receiving a rural delivery can choose to start their Monthly Inventory Report on the day of their rural delivery, and keep it for the approximately 30 days until the next Rural Delivery. Agency Write your agency name at the top of the first page. Month Enter the month and year of distribution, or the distribution dates. For example, if you do not go strictly by the month, you can enter August 10 September 9, 2010 Commodity Column - Most of the USDA food items (commodities) are listed in the left column. Write in any additional food items that may not be on this list at the bottom of the list. The columns allow you to list the items in cases and units. Units are the number of cans or individual items left when part of the case has been used. Beginning Inventory lists any USDA food items you had leftover from the previous month. There should be little or no beginning inventory. Received Cases are how many USDA cases you received on this delivery. Transferred In/Out Cases are any USDA cases that were transferred in or out of your inventory. You will rarely or never need to use this column. For example, if Second Harvest shipped you the wrong USDA product, and you cannot use it, you could return it to Second Harvest s inventory and write the number of cases you returned in this column. Total Available is the sum of the first three categories. Distributed is how many cases you distributed in the month timeframe. There are two columns one for Soup Kitchens and one for Food Banks. Use the column that applies to you. 4

Inventory Adjustment is where you would list any food that was lost or damaged. For example, if you received a case of canned peas that was totally smashed and therefore unusable, you would write 1 under Case in Inventory Adjustment. If you received a case of orange juice that had two cartons that were leaking, you would write 2 under Unit in Inventory Adjustment. Balance would be how much food you had left at the end of the month. Take the Total Available Distributed Inventory Adjustment = Balance Please put your agency name at the top of both pages of the Monthly Inventory Report. Enter the month and/or dates of distribution on the top right. Sign and date the bottom of the sheet. Return to Second Harvest Food Bank. TEFAP Eligibility/Distribution Records This form must be filled out by Food Pantries and Mobile Pantries. Soup Kitchens are not required to fill out this form. This form is a record of all clients receiving USDA food commodities. Enter your Agency Name and Location on the line at the the top right, and under that the Date(s) of Distribution. Signature of EFO Representative: You must sign this line on the bottom right of the form. Write the Name and Address of the client in the first two columns. You can determine the client s eligibility to get USDA food one of two ways: 1. Means Tested Programs: If the client says they are on one of the four public assistance programs listed: Food Stamps/SNAP, Families First, Social Security Income (SSI), or live in Public Housing, they automatically qualify. Check the programs they participate in & check the Documents Viewed Column. 5

2. Self Declaration: Clients can self declare their total household Income. If this income falls at or below what is on the income chart, they qualify to get USDA. Write the total household income in the line, and in the Frequency column, write how frequently they get that income (weekly, monthly, annual, etc.) Household Size: Enter the number of people living in the household. The next columns that are blank are for you to write the names of the USDA commodities you are distributing. Enter the name of the item, and how many of that item you gave to the household. Signature of Applicant or Authorized Representative: the client must sign here that they received the USDA foods. Totals: At the bottom of each chart, tally up the total for each USDA food item that was distributed. Reporting Please submit these reports to Second Harvest within 5 business days of the last day of your reporting period (typical month or your agency s 30 day timeframe of USDA distribution). You may fax the form to Whitney at 615-329- 3491 or email it to whitney@secondharvestmidtn.org. Failure to provide USDA reports to Second Harvest can result in your agency being put on USDA Hold. USDA requires that Second Harvest and your agency maintain copies of these reports for 4 years. Thank you for participating in USDA food distribution. Participating agencies can testify to the benefit of the program and the value it adds to their programs, whether it is a soup kitchen or food pantry. If you have any questions at all, please don t hesitate to call your Agency Relations Manager. 6