TEFAP distribution opens June 24
Published 9:51 am Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Beginning next week, food insecure residents in Northampton County will have access to additional resources to help satisfy their hunger.
On Monday, June 24, Food Bank of the Albemarle will be distributing TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) canned and dry goods through their mobile food pantry program at two sites, and marks the first time the Food Bank is distributing TEFAP in Northampton County.
“The addition of TEFAP to these mobile distributions in Northampton will provide much-needed additional resources to food insecure individuals and families,” said Liz Reasoner, Executive Director of Food Bank of the Albemarle. “Through this program, the Food Bank will distribute TEFAP for 275 households, and we are incredibly excited to be able to provide this additional food to Northampton County.”
The next mobile distributions, including TEFAP, will be held on Monday, June 24 at the following locations:
Northampton (CADA) Mobile Food Pantry at the Choanoke Area Development Association office in Rich Square (120 Sessoms Drive. Distribution of food items will be from 12 noon until 1 p.m.
Jackson Mobile Food Pantry, located at Jackson United Methodist Church (206 Thomas Bragg Drive, Jackson). This site will be open from 3:45-4:45 p.m.
According the latest data from Feeding America’s “Map the Meal Gap”, an annual assessment of hunger nationwide, Northampton County is home to 4,680 food insecure people, which is an incredible 23 percent of the county’s population.
The Emergency Food Assistance Program is a federal program that helps supplement the diets of low-income Americans, including elderly people, by providing them with emergency food assistance at no cost. Through TEFAP, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) purchases a variety of nutritious, high-quality USDA Foods, and makes those foods available to Food Bank of the Albemarle and other distributing agencies in North Carolina.
TEFAP is administered at the federal level by the Food and Nutrition Service, an agency of the USDA. Individuals can qualify for the program based on the income guidelines provided by USDA.
For more information contact Shanita Saunders, Agency Relations Specialist, at 252-335-4035, ext. 104, via email ssaunders@afoodbank.org, or visit www.afoodbank.org.
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: https://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:
Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
- Fax: (202) 690-7442; or
- Email: program.intake@usda.gov.
The Mission of the Food Bank is to fight hunger and poverty in a 15 county service area in northeast North Carolina. They are a regional clearinghouse for the collection and distribution of food and grocery items to 100 non-profit and faith-based organizations for their food programs, and to individuals needing assistance.
For more information call (252) 335-4035 or visit www.afoodbank.org.