The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service awarded the Mississippi Department of Human Services $698,093 on October 1, 2025, under the Emergency Food Assistance Program (Administrative Costs) formula grant to fund storage and distribution costs for TEFAP USDA Foods through September 30, 2027.
The recipient administers TEFAP in Mississippi as a state distributing agency designated by the Governor. Under the legislatively-mandated formula allocating funds based on each state's share of persons below the poverty level (60 percent weight) and unemployed persons (40 percent weight), Mississippi must make at least 40 percent of the grant available to emergency feeding organizations or expend funds on their behalf.
The Mississippi Department of Human Services passed funding through to two sub-recipients: Mid-South Food Bank and Catholic Social & Community Services Inc. Mid-South Food Bank serves over 300 charitable feeding programs across 31 counties in the Mid South region and distributes TEFAP food to local food banks and emergency assistance agencies. Catholic Social & Community Services Inc., a nonprofit based in Biloxi, receives, stores, repackages, and distributes USDA commodity foods to downstream community organizations across lower southern Mississippi counties. Both sub-recipients received awards dated October 1, 2025, covering the 2026 TEFAP distribution cycle.
The award obligates $698,093 for the two-year period of performance in Mississippi.