Funding: Emergency Food and Shelter Program Announces Jurisdiction Allocations January 2022

FEMA Advisory

Emergency Food and Shelter Program Announces Jurisdiction Allocations   

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The National Board for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program announced $530 million in FY 2021 annual and supplemental funding to jurisdictions (counties and cities) to assist with feeding and sheltering.

The funds were made available by Congress and awarded by FEMA to the National Board for allocation and administration. The funds will be used to assist social service organizations dedicated to feeding, sheltering, and providing other critical resources to our nation's hungry and homeless. EFSP funds are used to supplement food, shelter, rent, mortgage, and utility assistance programs for people with non-disaster related emergencies.

The National Board’s funding allocations to jurisdictions were made available by Congress through two sets of funding: 1) $130 million in annual funding through the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, and 2) $400 million in supplemental funding through Section 4007 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The $400 million in supplemental funding was provided by Congress to specifically address the continuing economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Board qualifies local jurisdictions for EFSP allocations based on criteria involving the latest national population, unemployment, and poverty data. Local boards in the qualifying jurisdictions decide which nonprofit and government agencies receive the allocated funds. The funds are then disbursed directly to the agencies by the National Board. Eight percent (8%) of the funding will be made available to State Set-Aside Committees that will make funding determinations to aid people in jurisdictions with needs that may not be reflected in the National Board’s qualifying formula.

The National Board is chaired by FEMA and includes representatives from American Red Cross, Catholic Charities USA, The Jewish Federations of North America, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, The Salvation Army, and United Way Worldwide. United Way Worldwide, selected by the National Board as its Secretariat and Fiscal Agent, is also responsible for the daily administration of the EFSP in alignment with federal requirements and National Board governance.

Information on allocations is available on the National Board’s website. In the next several days, the National Board will provide further instructions to each jurisdiction receiving an allocation of funds.