How are victims of natural disasters able to access Emergency Food Assistance?
After a region is declared a disaster area, the USDA helps in many ways to ensure that all those affected will receive food. Through its Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), the USDA provides commodity foods for shelters and other mass feeding sites, distributes commodity packages directly to households in need, and issues emergency SNAP benefits. FNSs Food Distribution Division supplies disaster relief organizations such as the Red Cross and the Salvation Army with emergency food. Victims of natural disasters are to contact their state agencies, which run the USDAs nutrition assistance programs during an emergency. For more information on FNS disaster relief, visit www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/programs/fd-disasters/default.htm. A victim can also call the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) hotline number or state number because they can direct victims towards their nearest emergency food assistance programs and shelters. Visit FEMA at www.fema.gov/.
