Commodity Distribution Programs

The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) Food and Nutrition Division administers the distribution of USDA-donated foods. The programs support American agricultural producers by providing cash reimbursements for meals served in schools, but also by providing nutritious, USDA-purchased food to the following nutrition programs:

• National School Lunch Program
• Summer Food Service Program
• Expanded Nutrition Program

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National School Lunch Program

Recipient agencies eligible to receive USDA Foods have the option of requesting and receiving foods in raw form and preparing them for use in their school lunch program operation and/or participating in one or more of the following programs:

Commodity Processing:

• Processing of USDA Foods allow State distributing agencies to contract with commercial food processors to convert raw, bulk USDA Foods into more convenient, ready-to-use end products. In Texas, direct ship schools and processing co-ops procure for the further processing of commodities; bids can only be awarded to companies with an approved agreement with TDA.

DoD/FFV Program:

• As part of the initiative by USDA to offer schools a wider variety of US grown fresh produce than would be available through normal USDA purchases, the Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable (FFV) Program was created in the mid-90’s.
• The program allows states to use a portion of their entitlement dollars for the DoD Program; the amount requested by TDA requires USDA approval. TDA divides the USDA-approved amount between the DoD/FFV and the DoD/Farm to School Programs. The DoD/FFV amount is pro-rated to schools wishing to participate in the program. Schools sign up for the program during the annual commodity renewal process. Schools participating in the DoD/FFV program order the fresh, US-grown produce through an online system administered by DoD. The produce is delivered to schools through commercial produce vendors.

DoD/Farm to School Program:

• The DoD/Farm to School (FtS) Program provides fresh, locally grown produce to participating schools.
• Schools sign up for the program during the annual commodity renewal process and project the amount of their entitlement they wish to use on this program. TDA pro-rates the DoD/FtS amount to participating schools which could be equal to, or less than, their projected amount.
• Schools participating in the program select the produce they wish to receive on a Farm to School Order Form available to them on the Texas Commodity System (TCS) website. The product is delivered to schools through the contracted warehouses.

Commercial Distribution Program:

Every five years, TDA issues a Request for Proposal (RFP) to contract with companies to store and deliver USDA Foods (includes processed end products awarded as Fee for Service and Farm to School products) to recipient agencies participating in the School Commodity Nutrition Programs (excluding Direct Ship Schools which receive USDA Foods directly from USDA).

The contract allows for four one-year renewals. Recipient Agencies are charged a delivery fee based on a sliding fee scale and a private storage fee for food remaining in storage more than 60 days. Contractors must deliver USDA Foods at least monthly to recipient agencies.

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Summer Food Service Program

SFSP is the single largest Federal resource available for local organizations that want to combine a feeding program with a summer activity program for children. During the school year, nutritious meals are available for children through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, but those programs end when school ends for the summer.

Recipient agencies participating in the “traditional” SFSP can elect to receive commodities for use in their program and may do so during the SFSP application process. The value of entitlement is valued at $0.015 per meal.

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Expanded Nutrition Program

TDA makes available USDA foods to the Expanded Nutrition Program administered by the Texas AgriLife Extension Services. The extension services provide food and nutrition education to vulnerable limited resource families and youth. Through the program, nutrition educators teach basic nutrition, food safety, shopping on a budget, and food preparation skills to clients using hands-on activities and practical, easy-to-understand materials.

*** For more information, please reference the Food Distribution Handbook at www.snptexas.org. For questions, please call 1-800-TexMeals.