Press Room
God’s Pantry Food Bank Looking to Grow Commodity Program for Low-Income Seniors
God’s Pantry Food Bank is looking to grow The Commodity Supplemental Food Program in Fayette County. The food bank currently administers this program to 708 Fayette County residents each month but could extend that program to as many as 850 people in the county.
An open enrollment for the program is planned for Wednesday, January 13 from 3:30-5 p.m. at Broadway Christian Church (187 N. Broadway). The registration will take place in the fellowship hall.
The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) works to improve the health of low-income pregnant and breastfeeding women, other new mothers up to one year postpartum, infants, children up to age six, and elderly people at least 60 years of age by supplementing their diets with nutritious USDA commodity foods.
CSFP is an enrolled program and participants receive a monthly food box. CSFP food packages do not provide a complete diet, but rather are good sources of the nutrients typically lacking in the diets of the target population. The monthly food box typically contains canned meat, evaporated milk, canned juice, canned fruit and vegetables, pasta, cereal and cheese. CSFP is administered at the Federal level by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The following people are eligible for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program:
• Senior citizens over the age of 60, living at 130% of the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines (monthly income cannot exceed $1,174 for a single-person household and cannot exceed $1,579 for a two-person household).
• Pregnant women, infants and postpartum mothers up to the child’s first birthday, living at 185% of Federal Poverty Income Guidelines ($1,670 for a single person household and $2,247 for a two-person household) but NOT participating in the Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC).
• Children through the month of their sixth birthday, living at 185% of the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines, but NOT participating in the WIC program.
To apply, adults must bring personal identification (driver’s license or birth certificate). Parents should provide proof of birth date for children (hospital or state birth certificate, medical card or immunization record.) Proof of income also is required to apply for this program. Acceptable proof includes a Social Security award letter, a copy of a Social Security check, a bank statement, a food stamp qualification document or a statement from the Housing Authority.