Food and Nutrition Service: Difference between revisions

FNS was established on August 8, 1969 as an agency of the [[United States Department of Agriculture]] (USDA). The first Administrator was Edward J. Hekman, former President of the Keebler Company, who served until the end the Ford Administration.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title=Edward Hekman, Official Of Biscuit Firm, USDA |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1980/03/20/edward-hekman-official-of-biscuit-firm-usda/00cee9e3-e398-4347-8cbb-5f502a65e31c/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1980-03-20 |access-date=2022-05-28}}</ref>  

In 2018, 11.1% of the US population were deemed as being 'food insecure'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx|title=USDA ERS - Key Statistics & Graphics|website=www.ers.usda.gov|access-date=2019-10-09}}</ref> This is a 0.07% decrease from 2017. Food insecurity is deemed as a household not having enough resources or insufficient funds to provide for everyone in their family. This equates to 37.2 million people affected by food insecurity. Non-white ethnicity groups are most impacted, while groups such as poverty stricken (with an income-to-poverty ratio under 1.00) and single women with children lead with higher percentages of households affected. States with an affected food security average of 15% or more that were polled within 2016-2018 are New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and North Carolina.

* food assistance through electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards; nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free meals and snacks; vouchers; and, fresh, locally grown produce

*[[Food Assistance for Disaster Relief]] (FADR)

**[[Office of Food Safety]]

The [[Office of Community Food Systems]] (OCFS) purpose is to support the many programs that run underneath it with a focus on using locally grown foods to support local economies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fns.usda.gov/cfs|title=Community Food Systems {{!}} USDA-FNS|website=www.fns.usda.gov|access-date=2019-10-14}}</ref> Most of these programs are geared towards children, although the [[Child and Adult Care Food Program|Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)]] includes day care for both children and seniors over 60 years old. The USDA Farm to School Grant Program is funded through the use of grants by the USDA, with 2019 seeing nearly $10 million awarded supporting 3.2 million students in over 5,400 schools across 42 states.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fns.usda.gov/pressrelease/usda-10819|title=USDA Announces Record-Breaking Funding for 2019 Farm to School Grants {{!}} USDA-FNS|website=www.fns.usda.gov|access-date=2019-10-14}}</ref> The program also seeks to encourage young children to pursue careers related to the creation and distribution of food supplies.  

==Related==

* [[Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services]]

* {{W|article=Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations}}