Views on Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program and Commodities for Soup Kitchens
T-RCED-90-69: Published: Apr 18, 1990. Publicly Released: Apr 18, 1990.
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GAO discussed the effectiveness of the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and a new program to provide commodities to soup kitchens or food banks. GAO found that: (1) commodities distributors said that despite a startup delay in fiscal year 1989, mandatory purchase requirements seemed to work effectively; (2) no delays occurred in 1990; (3) despite some problems, state officials and recipients were satisfied with the commodities that USDA provided; (4) recipient agency officials said that they did not receive nutritionally balanced food and that there were problems with funding and paperwork requirements; (5) the number of meals being served with soup kitchen commodities has been increasing and reflects a growing need for the program; (6) each state determined how it would allocate the commodities to its recipient agencies; (7) USDA officials encouraged states to make commodities available first to soup kitchens and then to offer the remainder to food banks; (8) USDA recognized the need for variety, but had to make purchases within its own budget constraints; (9) state and local agency officials suggested possible administration changes for the soup kitchen program; (10) state and local officials said they needed some commodities in smaller containers; and (11) 13 recipient agencies said commodities should come from the four basic food groups.
Jan 15, 2021
Farmworkers:
Additional Information Needed to Better Protect Workers from Pesticide ExposureGAO-21-63: Published: Jan 15, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 15, 2021.
Nov 20, 2020
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Food Safety:
CDC Could Further Strengthen Its Efforts to Identify and Respond to Foodborne IllnessesGAO-21-23: Published: Oct 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 20, 2020.
Nov 16, 2020
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Farm Programs:
USDA Has Improved Its Completion of Eligibility Compliance Reviews, but Additional Oversight Is NeededGAO-21-95: Published: Oct 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 16, 2020.
Sep 16, 2020
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Agriculture Spending:
Opportunities Exist for USDA to Identify Successes and Challenges of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program to Inform Future EffortsGAO-20-711R: Published: Sep 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 16, 2020.
Sep 14, 2020
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USDA Market Facilitation Program:
Information on Payments for 2019GAO-20-700R: Published: Aug 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 14, 2020.
Aug 10, 2020
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National Bio and Agro-defense Facility:
DHS and USDA Are Working to Transfer Ownership and Prepare for Operations, but Critical Steps RemainGAO-20-331: Published: Jul 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 10, 2020.
May 7, 2020
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Food Safety:
FDA and USDA Could Strengthen Existing Efforts to Prepare for Oversight of Cell-Cultured MeatGAO-20-325: Published: Apr 7, 2020. Publicly Released: May 7, 2020.
Apr 13, 2020
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Priority Open Recommendations:
U.S. Department of AgricultureGAO-20-288PR: Published: Apr 6, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 13, 2020.
Dec 23, 2019
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Nutrition Assistance Programs:
Agencies Could Do More to Help Address the Nutritional Needs of Older AdultsGAO-20-18: Published: Nov 21, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 23, 2019.
Dec 6, 2019
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Imported Seafood Safety:
Actions Needed to Improve FDA Oversight of Import Alert Removal DecisionsGAO-20-62: Published: Nov 6, 2019. Publicly Released: Dec 6, 2019.
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