Domestic Food Assistance: Summary of Programs

Since the 1930s, the federal government has administered programs to provide food to the hungry and to other vulnerable populations in the United States. Such efforts date back to the Great Depression, when the government became involved in distributing agricultural surpluses to households and school lunch programs. The relationship between food assistance and the farm economy has persisted over time, with many programs having the mutual goals of feeding people in need and supporting the agricultural sector. Most programs are administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), including the largest—the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP and several other FNS programs have historically been reauthorized in the farm bill, an omnibus reauthorization and extension of dozens of farm, food, and nutrition laws. FNS also administers programs included in a separate child nutrition reauthorization process, including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children (WIC) and the National School Lunch Program. Other food assistance programs are administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’) Administration for Community Living (ACL) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Those programs include ACL meal programs for seniors authorized under the Older Americans Act (OAA), and FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), which includes a focus on individuals experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. Although each of the programs discussed in this report provides for food in some way, the methods through which they accomplish this goal vary. For example, some programs provide food assistance to low-income households broadly, whereas others are targeted to specific populations (e.g., infants, children, seniors). The type of assistance can also differ. SNAP and certain other programs provide benefits redeemable for groceries, whereas others distribute foods or support prepared meals (e.g., the school lunch program). Some programs also support local feeding organizations’ operating costs. All of the programs aim to reduce hunger in some way. Over the past 30 years, USDA has monitored trends in food insecurity—a related concept to hunger—in order to assess national progress toward reducing food-related hardship and collect data that is used in evaluating domestic feeding programs. For 2024, USDA estimated that 13.7% of U.S. households were food insecure at some point during the year, meaning that they could not afford or obtain adequate food due to a lack of resources. Such households included 49.7 million individuals. Approximately 5.4% of U.S. households experienced very low food insecurity, a more severe kind of food insecurity that reflects reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns. USDA announced the discontinuation of its food insecurity reports in 2025. This report begins with a brief overview of hunger and food insecurity in the United States, and then describes the domestic food assistance programs in three sections: those administered by (1) USDA FNS, (2) HHS ACL, and (3) DHS FEMA. It includes information about each program, including its authorizing language, administering agency, eligibility criteria, services provided, and participation and funding levels. It also compares and contrasts features across programs.