Food and Nutrition Service is federal sub-agency of the US Department of Agriculture.

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was established on August 8, 1969. FNS is the federal agency responsible for administering the nation’s domestic nutrition assistance programs. It administers the programs through its headquarters (HQ) in Alexandria, VA; regional offices (ROs) in San Francisco, Denver, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, and Robbinsville (NJ); and field offices throughout the US. While its staff number among the USDA's fewest, its budget is by far the largest.

[edit] Services

FNS products and services enhance the lives of one in five Americans; its main products and services include:

• commodities supplied as: prepared meals that are served at congregate feeding sites; food packages that may be used for home consumption; and disaster relief assistance
• food assistance through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards; nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free meals and snacks; vouchers; and, fresh, locally grown produce
• nutrition education and promotion materials and presentations delivered by expert staff and senior managers; and
• food safety and security efforts, technical assistance and informational materials

[edit] Nutrition assistance programs

These products and services are provided to customers through fifteen domestic nutrition assistance programs:

• Food Stamp Program (FSP)
• National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
• School Breakfast Program (SBP)
• Special Milk Program (SMP)
• Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)
• Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
• Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP)
• Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP)
• Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)
• Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP)
• The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP)
• Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR)
• Pacific Island Assistance Program
• Nutrition Assistance Block Grants, including Nutrition Assistance for Puerto Rico
• Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program

In the United States, the lunches that are subsidized by the NSLP are nearly ubiquitous in public schools. The program has operated since 1946.

The FNS is in charge of the national "Eat Smart, Play Hard" campaign, which encourages Americans (more specifically, children and teens) to follow the healthy eating guidelines set by MyPyramid. The spokescharacter of the "Eat Smart, Play Hard" campaign is Power Panther.

[edit] External links

• "Food and Nutrition Service". http://www.fns.usda.gov. Retrieved October 10 2005. 

v • d • e Agencies under the United States Department of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture  · Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment Forest Service · Natural Resources Conservation Service Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Farm Service Agency · Foreign Agricultural Service · Risk Management Agency  · Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development Rural Housing Service  · Rural Utilities Service  · Rural Business-Cooperative Service Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Food and Nutrition Service · Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety Food Safety and Inspection Service Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics Agricultural Research Service · Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service · Economic Research Service · National Agricultural Library · National Agricultural Statistics Service Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Agricultural Marketing Service · Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service · Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration

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