Nutrition Assistance For Puerto Rico

The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service awards nutrition assistance grants to Puerto Rico under CFDA 10.566, with plan submissions due July 1 annually. This program provides food benefits to low-income families in Puerto Rico as an alternative to the federal Special Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), enabling recipients to supplement their grocery budgets and access nutritious food essential to health and well-being. Funding flows through a Federal State Agreement between USDA and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico's Department of the Family, which designates the operating agency or agencies. Congress appropriates the grant on a fiscal-year basis, and the program continues indefinitely unless the Commonwealth substantially fails to comply with regulations or initiates withdrawal.

Only the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is eligible to apply. The Commonwealth must submit its State Plan of Operations and comply with record-keeping requirements specified therein. USDA requires the Commonwealth to conduct internal audits of expenditures at least once every two years and is subject to Office of Inspector General oversight.

The source does not contain information on recent grant awards, award amounts, assistance-type classification, or currently open grant opportunities under this program. The program's structure as a direct appropriation to a single eligible applicant (Puerto Rico) differs from competitive or broad-based grant programs; the relevant decision point is the annual July 1 submission deadline for the Commonwealth's operational plan, not a typical NOFO cycle.