U.S. Department of Agriculture

Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Mission

The mission of Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services (FNCS) is to ensure access to nutritious, healthful diets for all Americans. Through food assistance and nutrition education for consumers, FNCS encourages consumers to make healthful food choices. Today, rather than simply providing food, FNCS works to empower consumers with knowledge of the link between diet and health, providing dietary guidance based on research.

The Food and Consumer Service (FCS) administers the 15 food assistance programs of USDA. These programs, which serve 1 in 6 Americans, represent our nation's commitment to the principle that no one in our country should fear hunger or experience want. They provide a safety net to people in need.

The programs' goals are to provide needy persons with access to a more nutritious diet, to improve the eating habits of the nation's children, and to help America's farmers by providing an outlet for distributing foods purchased under farmer assistance authorities.

FCS works in partnership with the states in all its programs. States determine most administrative details regarding distribution of food benefits and eligibility of participants, and FCS provides funding to cover most of the states' administrative costs. State and local agencies administer the programs.

Many of the food programs administered by FCS originated long before FCS existed as the separate agency established as the Food and Nutrition Service in 1969. The Food Stamp Program, now the cornerstone of USDA's food assistance, was begun in its modern form in 1961, but it originated as the Food Stamp Plan to help the needy in the 1930's. The National School Lunch Program also has its roots in Depression-era efforts to help low-income children. Today, the mission encompasses working to teach children about nutrition and to improve the nutrition standards of school meals. The Needy Family Program, which has evolved into the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, was the primary means of food assistance during the Great Depression.

FCS administers the following food assistance programs:

• The Food Stamp Program is the cornerstone of the USDA food assistance programs, and served an average of 27 million people each month in 1994. The program issues monthly benefits through coupons or Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT), using a plastic card much like a credit card. Benefits are redeemable at retail food stores.
• The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations and the Trust Territories provides monthly food packages for Native Americans who live on or near Indian reservations and for Pacific Islanders who choose not to participate in the Food Stamp Program. In 1994, about 115,000 people participated in the program each month.
• The Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) improves the health of low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and infants and children up to 5 years old. WIC served a monthly average of 7.2 million women, infants, and children in 1994.
• The WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program provides WIC participants with increased access to fresh produce. WIC participants are given coupons to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at authorized local farmers markets. Eleven states and about half a million people participated in this program in 1994.
• The Commodity Supplemental Food Program is a direct food distribution program with a target population similar to WIC's, and it also serves the elderly. In 1994, about 400,000 participated.
• Every schoolday, the National School Lunch Program serves about 25 million children in 92,000 schools. More than half of these children receive the meal free or at a reduced price.
• Some 5.4 million children participated in the School Breakfast Program in 1994. Over 60 percent of schools participating in the National School Lunch Program offer a school breakfast. About 83 percent of school breakfasts are served free.
• The Special Milk Program provides milk for children in those schools, summer camps, and child care institutions that have no federally supported meal program.
• The Child and Adult Care Food Program provides cash and commodities for meals served in child and adult day care centers, and family and group day care homes for children. In 1994, over 2 million children and adults participated in this program.
• In 1994, about 2.3 million low-income children received free meals during school vacation periods through the Summer Food Service Program.
• The Nutrition Program for the Elderly provides cash and commodities for meals served to senior citizens. In 1994, some 924,000 meals were served each day under this program.
• Another FCS program provides Food Distribution to Charitable Institutions, Soup Kitchens, and Food Banks. Foods donated to institutions come from agricultural surpluses acquired by USDA as part of its price stabilization and surplus removal activities. The kinds and quantities of foods donated vary, depending on crop and market conditions.
• Alternative Nutrition Assistance Programs for Puerto Rico and the Northern Marianas provide benefits through a block grant program. These two territories now provide cash and coupons to participants rather than food stamps or food distribution.
• In 1994, The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) provided states with $40 million in administrative funds to distribute $80 million worth of USDA commodities--plus commodities donated by the private sector--to the needy.

The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion coordinates nutrition policy in USDA and provides overall leadership in nutrition education for consumers. The Center is the link between basic science and the consumer. The Center coordinates with the Department of Health and Human Services the review, revision, and dissemination of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans , the Federal Government's statement of nutrition policy, formed by a concensus of scientific and medical professionals.

The Office of Consumer Affairs encourages consumer involvement in USDA policymaking decisions and coordinates consumer education and outreach activities.

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