Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program

The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, a civilian sub-agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, administers federal nutrition assistance programs including SNAP (food stamps), WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), and child nutrition initiatives, funded through a mix of formula grants to state agencies and project grants to community organizations and recipients.

The Food and Nutrition Service has obligated $59.47 billion in federal grant funding across 6,207 awards since 2012. Grant activity has declined modestly over the past five years, with 760 awards in 2021, 773 in 2022, 632 in 2023, 662 in 2024, and 588 awards so far in 2025. The agency works with 304 distinct grant recipients, predominantly state health and human services departments administering nutrition programs at the state level.

Grant recipient concentration by award count is highly fragmented, with the top five recipients (Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Ohio Department of Job & Family Services, Illinois Department of Human Service, and Family Services Dept) holding just 7 percent of recent awards over the last five years. However, concentration by federal dollars obligated is moderately concentrated. The top five recipients by dollar volume—Department of Social Services California, Health & Human Services Commission Texas, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Illinois Department of Human Service, and New Jersey Department of Human Services—account for 16 percent of federal dollars obligated. California alone received $6.12 billion across 37 awards, and Texas received $1.01 billion across 37 awards, reflecting the scale of nutrition assistance in high-population states.

The portfolio is dominated by Formula Grants, which account for 4,080 awards (66 percent) and fund recurring state-administered nutrition programs. Project Grants represent 1,894 awards (31 percent) and typically fund time-limited nutrition initiatives or pilot programs. Cooperative Agreements comprise 233 awards (4 percent).

No recent contract opportunities or contract awards are recorded against the agency. The Food and Nutrition Service does not transact through federal procurement; it distributes federal nutrition funding through the grant-making structure above.