About TEFAP
The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is a federally funded U.S. Department of Agriculture program that provides USDA foods to low-income households. In Colorado, Food Distribution Programs contracts with Food Bank of the Rockies, Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado and the Weld Food Bank to distribute these high-quality, American grown foods to our neighbors in need in every county. More than 30% of all the food distributed by Colorado’s food banks and up to 50% of all the food in food pantries is from this program.
We survey pantries, soup kitchens and clients to determine which products best meet community needs. This often includes items such as ground beef, chicken, milk, eggs and cheese along with fruits and veggies.
Who is eligible for TEFAP?
We understand that asking for help may be hard — but we are here to help. Eligibility for TEFAP is simple — your household just needs to meet the income guidelines or be participating in one of the programs below.
| Household size | Maximum weekly household income | Maximum monthly household income |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $579.23 | $2,510.00 |
| 2 | $786.15 | $3,406.67 |
| 3 | $993.08 | $4,303.33 |
| 4 | $1,200.00 | $5,200.00 |
| 5 | $1,406.92 | $6,096.67 |
| 6 | $1,613.85 | $6,993.33 |
| 7 | $1,820.77 | $7,890.00 |
| 8 | $2,027.69 | $8,786.67 |
| For each addl. family member, add: | $206.92 | $896.67 |
*Income guidelines updated 2/2024
Participation in any of these programs means a household is automatically eligible for TEFAP:
- Everyday Eats (CSFP)
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
- Low-income Energy Assistance Program (LEAP)
- Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
- Old Age Pension (OAP)
- Aid to Needy Disabled (AND)
- Aid to the Blind (AB)
- Medicaid Eligible Foster Children
How to sign up for TEFAP
Signing up is easy! Just go to your nearest food pantry and provide your name, phone number and address (in case of a food recall), the number of people in your household and how you qualify. No interview, no verifications — just bring an ID of any kind and a piece of mail if you have one, to show which county you live in.
Resources for our partners
Are you a current TEFAP food bank, food pantry or soup kitchen? Expand the sections below for program resources.
- General resources
- TEFAP agency map
- TEFAP USDA Foods fact sheets and recipes
- Training: Entering a Shipment Receipt into WBSCM (Full Truckloads)
- Training: TEFAP Eligibility Application Training
- TEFAP Advisory - Administration Information
2024 TEFAP Conference Presentations
- TEFAP applications
- Documents and forms
- Capital Equipment List Request To Purchase
- Civil Rights Training Log
- Everyday Eats and TEFAP Beneficiary Referral Request Form
- Everyday Eats and TEFAP Beneficiary Referral Request Form - Spanish
- Everyday Eats and TEFAP Short-Version Civil Rights Training (Volunteers) - English
- Everyday Eats and TEFAP Short-Version Civil Rights Training (Volunteers) - Spanish
- Everyday Eats and TEFAP Cleaning Log
- Everyday Eats and TEFAP Complaint Form
- Everyday Eats and TEFAP Food Complaint Form
- Everyday Eats and TEFAP Pest Control Log Template
- Everyday Eats and TEFAP Proxy Form (English)
- Everyday Eats and TEFAP Proxy Form (Spanish)
- Everyday Eats and TEFAP Proxy Form (Russian)
- Everyday Eats and TEFAP Temperature Tracking Log
- Everyday Eats and TEFAP Food Loss Report Form
- TEFAP Policy and Procedure Manual
- TEFAP Policy and Procedure Manual for Recipient Agencies
- TEFAP State Plan
- Discrimination complaint form