Some food and nutrition programs are discretionary (not mandated by law) and are subject to annual appropriations in such amounts as the subcommittee and Congress chooses. Entitlement and mandatory programs are generally not subject to annual appropriations and are automatically funded at predetermined levels.  

Discretionary programs include the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) Administrative Support (funding for transportation and storage). TEFAP Commodity Purchases is a mandatory program. Also considered discretionary are the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) and the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program. The Community Food and Nutrition Program (CFNP), also a discretionary program, is funded under the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittees.

Latest Appropriations News

House Passes Food and Nutrition Spending Legislation; Senate Floor Action Expected Before August Recess

Last week, the House of Representatives passed its version of the FY 2010 Agriculture Appropriations spending bill, H.R. 2997, by a vote of 266-160. The Senate Appropriations Committee also approved its version of the spending bill, S. 1406, clearing the way for Senate floor action, expected before the August recess. Click to view the House and Senate reports detailing the recommendations.

Background Information:
Below is a summary of the food and nutrition highlights contained in both spending bills.
Click here to see a side-by-side comparison of the funding levels in the Senate Appropriations Committee bill (S. 1406) to the House-passed bill (H.R. 2997).

• WIC: The Senate Appropriations Committee provides record WIC funding at $7.552 billion (House $7.541 billion). Both the House and Senate bills note the availability of $487 million in contingency funding for WIC in FY 2010. The House report states that it "will continue to monitor WIC food costs, participation, and carry-over funds, and take additional action as necessary to ensure that funding provided in fiscal year 2010 is sufficient to serve all eligible applicants." The Senate bill also includes funding for significant program improvements for WIC, including: $80 million for breastfeeding support initiatives; $60 million for State management information systems; and $14 million for infrastructure improvements. It also exempts military combat pay from the WIC eligibility determination and provides funding to increase fruit and vegetable voucher amounts up to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendation. The House bill includes $20 million for breastfeeding support initiatives; $30 million for State management information systems; $14 million for infrastructure improvements; and a provision that may also bring vouchers up to the IOM recommendation.

• Afterschool Meal Program Expansion: The Senate Committee bill expands the current 10-state Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Afterschool Meal Program to Wisconsin; the House bill expands the program to Connecticut and the District of Columbia.

• Other Child Nutrition Programs and SNAP/Food Stamps: These programs, unlike WIC, are entitlements, with the spending path driven by the authorizing statute, economic conditions and other factors. In some instances, like the afterschool meals program referenced above, the appropriations bill will expand the programs. Otherwise, the spending mostly tracks estimates of the need. Funding for SNAP/Food Stamps in both bills, for example, matched the Administration's request for $61.352 billion in funding, an increase of $7.383 billion over FY 2009.

• Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP): Funding for CSFP is $162.8 million in the Senate Committee bill. The House provides $180 million, of which $5 million is designated specifically for expanding the current 32-state CSFP to six additional states with USDA-approved feeding plans (AR, OK, DE, UT, NJ and GA), and $12.2 million to expand caseloads in existing states.

• TEFAP/Emergency Food Support: The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) commodity storage and distribution grant program is funded at $49.95 million in the Senate ($49.5 million in the House). The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act enacted earlier this year provided an additional $25 million in TEFAP funding for FY 2010. Both bills include $253.3 million for TEFAP commodity purchases. The Food Bank Infrastructure Grant Program, authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill to support food banks in rural areas, is funded at $7 million in the Senate (with particular emphasis placed on Indian tribal organizations) and $5 million in the House.

• CHC Hunger Fellowship Program: Both the Senate Committee and House fund the Congressional Hunger Center's Bill Emerson/Mickey Leland Hunger Fellowship Program ($3 million in the Senate, $2.5 million in the House), supporting the research, analysis and policy work of the hunger fellows.

Leave Behinds  
Child Nutrition Program Priorities - Appropriations Messages
Emergency Food and Commodity Priorities Appropriations Messages

FY 2010 Agriculture Appropriations

• House and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee

FY 2010 Community Food and Nutrition Programs (CFNP) Appropriations

• House and Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee
• Fact sheet on CFNP

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