• to develop an understanding, through a nationally representative sample, of the characteristics, operating structure, and service areas of food banks, food pantries, and emergency kitchens;
• to understand the resource base of food banks, food pantries, and emergency kitchens and the capacity of these providers to manage current and future changes in food demand and food resources;
• to develop a national estimate of the total number of recipients served and the total quantity and type of food, by source, that flows into food banks, food pantries, and emergency kitchens; and
• to survey clients on their characteristics, participation in other food assistance programs, and reasons for obtaining emergency food instead of or in addition to obtaining food through USDA programs.

Many emergency food assistance providers are reporting increased demand for their services as a result of changes in the Nation's welfare and food assistance safety net under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and decreasing ability to meet the additional demand. Emergency food assistance from food pantries, emergency kitchens, or similar programs is a coping mechanism used by low-income households to augment household food supplies. The 1997 publication Hunger 1997: The Faces & Facts by Second Harvest, the Nation's largest charitable hunger relief organization, reported that 21 million people received emergency food assistance from Second Harvest-affiliated providers in 1997. The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides commodity and administrative support to emergency food assistance providers through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Food Recovery and Gleaning Initiative seeks to increase the quantity of surplus food recovered from the food marketing system and distributed to needy households through emergency food assistance providers.

A contract was awarded to Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., for $1,493,061. A modification ($99,208) to the existing contract was made in fiscal 2000 to increase the coverage of the provider survey to include agencies that distribute TEFAP foods as a secondary function. An option ($1,577,357) to the contract was exercised in fiscal 2000 to survey clients on their characteristics, participation in other food assistance programs, and reasons for obtaining emergency food instead of or in addition to obtaining food through USDA programs. In fiscal 2001, a modification of $99,208 to the contract was made to increase the coverage of the provider survey to include agencies that distribute TEFAP foods as a secondary function, and an amendment for $98,022 was made to support additional data collection. In fiscal 2002, additional funding was provided to support sample administration in the client survey. The expected completion date is May 2003.