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3 Things to Know About the Role of TEFAP in Fighting Rural Hunger

Here are three facts you should know about the role TEFAP plays in helping rural communities weather the country’s hunger crisis.

January 13, 2022 | By

Zakkeeas visiting a food pantry.

As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, another pandemic is also continuing to disrupt the health and well-being of communities across the United States: hunger. 

In rural areas of the nation – the very places that produce much of the food eaten in the U.S. and abroad – hunger hits especially hard. Fortunately, federal food programs like The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) are running to ensure our rural neighbors, and others in need, don’t have to face empty pantries and fridges. 

Here are three facts you should know about the role TEFAP plays in helping rural communities weather the country’s hunger crisis. 

1. In rural areas, hunger pains can be the sharpest.

Having to make the impossible choice between buying groceries and other necessities is a reality faced by millions of people across the United States – especially those in rural areas. Living in a rural community comes with a unique set of challenges, including less access to food, higher rates of chronic disease, and limited healthcare infrastructure. As a result, rural counties make up 63 percent of all U.S. counties, but 87 percent of counties with the highest rates of food insecurity.

2. TEFAP is a hunger lifeline for rural communities.

TEFAP is a federal nutrition program run by the United States Department of Agriculture that, at a bird’s-eye view, moves pantry staples from U.S. growers and producers to food banks (and other food-distributing organizations) to families in need. The program acts as an anti-hunger powerhouse for rural pockets of the U.S. In 2020 alone, 96 percent of rural counties received TEFAP food items – everything from fruits and vegetables to dairy and meat – distributed by a food bank within the Feeding America network.

3. Lawmakers have an opportunity to invest in TEFAP to support rural and other areas.

TEFAP delivers in every community across the nation, particularly in rural ones. That’s why our lawmakers should support strong, additional investments in TEFAP to help ensure food banks can meet the need in their communities – especially now.

Food banks, and other charitable food assistance organizations, are bearing the brunt of the enduring hunger crisis, as demand for food remains elevated amid an ongoing pandemic, rising food prices, and a winter that threatens to spike the cost of utilities for families. 

While households continue experiencing barriers to affording groceries, current TEFAP food support is on the verge of running out. This spells disaster for food banks working overtime to keep up with demand and for families looking to food banks for support.

Lawmakers have the power to invest in TEFAP to ensure fewer of our neighbors go hungry. Tell lawmakers to act using our action alert.  

🥕 In rural areas of the nation, hunger hits especially hard. @hunger shares 3 facts you should know about the role TEFAP plays in helping rural communities weather the country’s hunger crisis: bit.ly/TEFAPxRuralHunger

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