The Emergency Food and Shelter Program


 

Publication Date: October 2006

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Social conditions

Type:

Abstract:

The Emergency Food and Shelter (EFS) Program allocates funds to local communities to fund homeless programs including soup kitchens, food banks, shelters, and homeless prevention services. The EFS program is part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and after Hurricane Katrina struck, some questions arose about the use of EFS program funds for Presidentially-declared disasters. This report describes how the EFS program operates through its National Board, local boards, and local recipient organizations. It further discusses the use of EFS program funds during disasters, and recent attempts to move the program from FEMA to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).