The Food Bank of NCA partners with the Arkansas Department of Education to distribute USDA Commodities to local hunger relief organizations across nine counties. This program, called The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), aims to provide emergency food and nutritional assistance to low-income Americans, including the elderly, at no cost. Under TEFAP, the USDA provides commodity foods to State Distributing Agencies based on unemployment and poverty levels. States then distribute the food to local agencies like food banks, CAP agencies, food pantries, soup kitchens, and mass distribution sites, who in turn provide it to eligible recipients based on income criteria set by each state.