Distribution of Food and Administrative Funds to Emergency Food Providers

RCNY tit. 68, ch. 4

in effect

68 RCNY § 4-01 Definitions.

§ 4-01 Definitions. EFAP. EFAP shall stand for the Emergency Food Assistance Program. The City-funded program aids emergency food providers by supplying them with food and administrative funds. Food provider. A "food provider" shall mean a food pantry, soup kitchen or other similarly constituted non-profit food program which provides food to people based on their having inadequate income to meet their immediate need for food, and which has been certified by the Human Resources Administration to participate in EFAP. Food pantry. A "food pantry" distributes food packages containing canned and other non-perishable food items which are to be prepared and eaten at home. More than one meal per individual is provided in the food package. Soup kitchen. A "soup kitchen" serves meals to individuals in a congregate setting or through other direct distribution (i.e., van distribution of meals to homeless in parks and other public places). Typically, one meal per individual is served. Cycle. A "cycle" is a six month period. Administration. The "Administration" shall mean the Human Resources Administration. EFAP Advisory Group. The EFAP Advisory Group shall consist of persons active or concerned with the operation of emergency food programs. The group is chosen by the Administration for advice on the implementation of the Emergency Food Assistance Program.

68 RCNY § 4-02 [Eligibility.]

§ 4-02 [Eligibility.] To be eligible to receive funds from EFAP, each food provider must meet the following eligibility criteria: (a) no charges or fees may be assessed for the food provided through EFAP; (b) the provider must have sources of food other than the Administration; (c) the provider must serve a minimum of 100 meals per month; (d) EFAP food cannot be used to serve an organization's "institutional resident" population. (Residents of institutions are those individuals entitled to at least two meals per day as part of the institutions normal service. Examples: Homeless Shelters, Group Homes, Treatment/Rehabilitation Facilities, etc.); (e) all EFAP food must be properly and securely stored; it cannot be stored, prepared or distributed from a private home, apartment or other personal residence; (f) the provider must agree to submit a monthly service report which records the number of individuals served per month. (g) EFAP food and/or funds cannot be used to supplant funds provided through any government contract to provide meals to a specific population (i.e.: Senior Centers or nonresidential treatment programs with government contracts to provide meals). (h) the provider shall not require attendance at any religious service or other program activity as a prerequisite for receiving emergency food.

68 RCNY § 4-03 [Certification Requirements.]

§ 4-03 [Certification Requirements.] A food provider must be certified by the Administration. Certification requirements include: (a) completion of the EFAP Application Form; (b) satisfaction of the requirements of 68 RCNY § 4-02 above; (c) receipt of a site visit by an Administration employee. An Annual recertification visit is also required. (d) signing an agreement to abide by all EFAP requirements.

68 RCNY § 4-04 [Food Allocation and Administrative Funds, Biannual Review.]

§ 4-04 [Food Allocation and Administrative Funds, Biannual Review.] Each food provider's food allocation and administrative funds shall be determined two times per year.

68 RCNY § 4-05 [Food Budget.]

§ 4-05 [Food Budget.] The EFAP food budget will consist of two components: a food supplement and a meal budget. EFAP Food Supplement + EFAP Meal Budget = Total EFAP Food Budget Correspondingly each provider's food allocation may consist of two components: a food supplement (discretionary) and a meal budget. Food Supplement (Discretionary) + Meal Budget = A Provider's Food Allocation (a) The EFAP food supplement per cycle shall be equal to no more than ten percent of the total EFAP Food Budget. A food supplement may be awarded to a provider based on the recommendations of the EFAP Advisory Group. These funds shall address needs that could not easily be factored into a set formula. It is envisioned that the funds shall be used to provide food money to: underserved communities by giving additional support to current EFAP providers to expand their service or to enable the Administration to recruit new service providers; programs providing services to special populations, e.g., immigrants and people with HIV; and, to fund special projects. The EFAP food supplement shall only be distributed to groups which meet the definition of "food provider" established in § 4.01 and which meet the eligibility criteria established in § 4.02. (b) The EFAP meal budget will be equal to the total EFAP food budget minus the EFAP food supplement. Total EFAP Food Budget - EFAP Food Supplement = EFAP Meal Budget Each provider will receive a meal budget per cycle based on its number of funded meals. To arrive at a provider's meal budget, a series of calculations will be made. First, the total number of funded meals for all programs will be calculated by determining the number of meals served per program; determining the number of funded meals per program through the application of the sliding scale, as specified in paragraph (2) of this subdivision; and then adding together the number of funded meals for all programs. The sum of the funded meals for all programs will be divided into the EFAP meal budget yielding the dollar value of each funded meal. EFAP Meal Budget ÷ Total Number of Funded Meals for All Providers = Dollar Value of Each Funded Meal Finally, the number of funded meals for a provider is multiplied by the dollar value of each funded meal providing the provider with its meal budget. # of Funded Meals for Provider × Dollar Value of Each Funded Meal = A Provider's Meal Budget (1) Food providers will continue to report the number of individuals served per month. The new formula will take into account that food pantries provide many meals per individual; while soup kitchens generally serve one meal per individual. The new formula will convert individuals served to meals served according to the following formulae: The Total # of Individuals Served in each Soup Kitchen for Twelve Month Period = Total # of Meals Served in each Soup Kitchen for Twelve Month Period The Total # of Individuals Served in Each Food Pantry for Twelve Month Period × 3 Meals per Individual Served = Total # of Meals Served in Each Food Pantry for Twelve Month Period (2) The number of meals served per provider will be weighted so that smaller providers receive more money per meal served, while at the same time the formula provides additional money for each meal served, albeit at a declining rate. All providers will be ranked according to the number of meals served during a twelve month period. Seven meal categories with minimum and maximum number of meals served will be established. The meal categories will be set as follows. First all providers will be sorted according to the total number of meals served within the twelve month period. The smallest ten percent of the providers will set the first category (i.e., the number of meals served by the provider that falls at the tenth percentile will be the maximum number of meals in the first category). The second category will begin with one more meal than the maximum number of meals for the first category. The upper limit of this category will be set at the number of meals served by the provider that falls at the twentieth percentile. The remaining five meal categories will be set according to similar guidelines with the maximum number of meals included in each category being set at 30%, 80%, 87%, 94% and 100% respectively. The meals served by a provider are then multiplied by the appropriate meal factor for each category in order to determine the sum total of funded meals for each program. The following chart lists the percentage of programs within each meal category and the meal factor to be using in calculating the funded meals in each category. Meal Category Percent of Programs Within Category Meal Factor 1 10% 8 2 10% 4 3 10% 2 4 50% 1 5 7% .5 6 7% .25 7 6% .125 Meal Category Meal Factor 0 - 2,799 meals 8 2,800 - 4,999 meals 4 5,000 - 6,699 meals 2 One would determine the total number of funded meals for a provider serving 6,000 meals per year as follows: 2,799 × 8 = 22,392 (4,999 - 2,800) × 4 = 8,796 (6,000 - 5,000) × 2 = 2,000 33,188 funded meals The total number of funded meals is then multiplied by the dollar value of each funded meal to determine a provider's meal budget.

68 RCNY § 4-06 [Allocation of Administrative Funds.]

§ 4-06 [Allocation of Administrative Funds.] Each food provider shall be eligible to receive administrative funds to be used to cover approved operating expenses. Administrative funds shall be allocated in a way that takes into account the fact that soup kitchens generally have greater operating expenses than food pantries. Administrative funds for each food provider shall be allocated by using their dollars budgeted in the EFAP administrative line. Soup kitchens shall be eligible for twice as much administrative funding as food pantries due to significantly higher non-food costs associated with congregate meal preparation.

68 RCNY § 4-07 [Modifications.]

§ 4-07 [Modifications.] The amount of food and administrative funds allocated to each provider may be changed by the Human Resources Administration for any allocation period, regardless of the above formulae, based on various factors, including, but not limited to: (a) failure to submit monthly service reports; (b) submission of inaccurate monthly service reports; (c) a change in the provider's status from active to on-hold or closed; (d) a request from the provider that its allocation be reduced. (e) other factors dictating the need to reallocate funds, including, but not limited to changing demographics or changed demographic projections, or geographic imbalances.

Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCrules/0-0-0-94349Fetched: 10/24/2026