TEFAP Reach and Resiliency – Round 2 Application Period Now Open!
USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is excited to announce the Request for Applications (RFA) for TEFAP Reach and Resiliency – Round 2 grant funding is open as of December 5, 2022. TEFAP Reach and Resiliency – Round 2 grants have the same key objective as TEFAP Reach and Resiliency - Round 1 grants; thus they are intended to expand TEFAP’s reach into remote, rural, Tribal, and/or low-income areas that are underserved by current program operations. Round 2 grant funding will provide TEFAP State agencies with another opportunity to work with currently participating organizations and/or new partner organizations, to reach underserved populations.
TEFAP State agencies are invited to apply for an amount of Round 2 grant funding up to the maximum amount outlined for their State/Territory in the RFA, by submitting a complete grant application in the Grants.gov portal by March 6, 2023. In their applications, State agencies may also indicate interest in additional funding, if available. Additional information on the TEFAP Reach and Resiliency grant initiative, including background on the initiative and descriptions of Round 1 projects, can be found here.
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Catalogs are Open for USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation Orders
In September 2022, USDA announced a $1 billion commitment to fight hunger and strengthen nutrition security by providing additional food resources to emergency food providers using USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation. Since the announcement, USDA has been working quickly to develop a plan to spend the funds to purchase foods for delivery in fiscal years 2023 and 2024. USDA has been in communication with vendors and industry groups to assess market availability and discuss available capacities and delivery timelines. The online ordering catalogs were recently opened for States to place orders for the first round of deliveries, which will start in February 2023 and include a variety of fresh, frozen, and shelf stable fruits and vegetables, protein foods, and dairy products. The additional food resources will continue to provide support to food banks and other emergency feeding organizations so that they can fulfill their mission of providing nutritious foods to children and families in need.
FY 2023 Farm to Food Bank Update
The 2018 Farm Bill provided a new source of funding for TEFAP State agencies to pay for projects to harvest, process, package, or transport commodities donated by agricultural producers, processors, or distributors for use by emergency feeding organizations. These projects intend to reduce food waste, provide food to individuals in need, and build key relationships in our nation’s food system. On August 12, 2022, FNS released a memorandum announcing the availability of $3.772 million in funding for TEFAP State agencies to support FY 2023 TEFAP Farm to Food Bank projects. This is the fourth and final round of projects. On December 1, 2022, FNS awarded funding to 28 TEFAP State agencies for FY 2023. Of those projects, 26 include expansions or continued support for States who received funding in the past, and two are newly participating States. The 28 state agencies that received a FY 2023 Farm to Food Bank project award are identified in the resource here.
For a summary of how TEFAP State agencies have utilized previous Farm to Food Bank Project funds, please visit the FNS website here.
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Produce Safety Resources
These produce safety resources provide information and best practices on receiving and storing fresh produce to help ensure that program operators and participants receive and use produce items that are high quality and safe. Use the following links to view and download these resources:
Produce Storage Chart
This chart provides information on the storage of fresh produce to maintain its quality and safety, including ideal temperatures and locations. Although the visual below represents a walk-in refrigerator, the information provided can be be applied to other equipment used to keep food cold, such as a reach-in refrigerator.
 Produce Information Fact Sheets
These fact sheets provide information about various types of produce including apples, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, grapes, lettuce, oranges, squash, and tomatoes. Topics include seasonal availability and guidelines for receiving, storage, and handling.
USDA Foods Order and Purchase Update Webinar
In September 2022, USDA hosted the USDA Foods Order and Purchase Update webinar to provide information about ordering and procurement of USDA Foods to TEFAP program recipients. This webinar provides an overview of the ordering process, what happens behind the scenes when orders are submitted, information about procurement challenges USDA has faced resulting from supply chain issues, and funding available to help emergency food organizations provide assistance to their communities. We encourage TEFAP State and recipient agencies to view this webinar for the latest updates on TEFAP operations.
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Improvements to WBSCM Notifications
With recent releases, the Web-based Supply Chain Management (WBSCM) system has improved notifications to provide more information and reduce the need to generate reports for additional information for follow-up:
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Order Change Notification: The Order Change Notification emails display additional information about the Ship-To location (ID, name, city, and state) for each listed sales order. When the Ship-To is changed on a sales order, the old and new information is provided.
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Missing Goods Receipt Notification: The Missing GR Notification emails now display the program as well as more detailed Ship-To information (ID, name, city, and state) to facilitate SDA follow-up inquiries about missing goods receipts.
As a reminder, users who do not need to receive these notifications can opt out via the Admin > Manage Users > Maintain User Profile transaction.
Additionally, the Consolidation Workbench has been improved to make it easier to identify and select a new delivery location. Instead of requiring the user to select a new Ship-To solely by its ID number, WBSCM now displays a pop-up window with the Ship-To BP ID, Ship-To Name, City, and State for each available delivery site. Each column can be sorted or filtered, as needed.
 All monthly changes are documented in the Release Notes, which may be accessed in WBSCM at Help > Training > Release Notes.
For questions about WBSCM, please contact the WBSCM Service Desk or call (877) 927-2648.
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