Changes to Food Giveaway on September 11

The fourth of five food giveaways in 2024, sponsored by the Grant County Christian Service Council and Feeding South Dakota, will be held on Wednesday, September 11, from 4-5 p.m. in the Living Word Church parking lot north on Hwy.15 in Milbank.

The event will be similar to the one held last month. Former guests, but new to this year’s giveaways, will notice several changes. The changes are because Feeding South Dakota now receives a large percentage of their food from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). TEFAP is a federal program designed to supplement the diets of low-income Americans by providing free emergency food assistance. The products and funds to operate the program are provided by the USDA.

Because of the involvement of the federal government, specific requirements and rules that must be followed:  

1. Unlike the giveaways in the past, federal commodity rules require Feeding South Dakota to serve only South Dakota residents, so recipients at the Milbank distribution can only be residents of South Dakota. 
   
2. Recipients must now meet federal income guidelines. These guidelines will be posted at the event, in this article, and at the Milbank ICAP Office. The income guidelines changed as of July 1, so please take note of the new guidelines, as your family may now qualify.  Households will not be asked to verify their income but will self-report and indicate whether they meet the income eligibility guidelines.  At registration, households receiving food will be required to provide their name, number in the household, address, and signature of the family member receiving the food.  If you attended any of the Milbank giveaways this year, you will already be on the TEFAP List and need only to verify the information is correct. Families who have not attended a giveaway in 2024, will be asked to fill out a small form to verify family information.
    
3.  Because participants must now meet federal income guidelines, it changes the way guests can pick up food for another family.  As in the past, you may pick up food for ONE other family, however with the new regulations, this family must also be residing in South Dakota, and must also meet the federal income guidelines. 
4. If you wish to pick up food for a second family, the second family must fill out the TEFAP Proxy form. Even if you are picking up food for the same family you picked up for last month, you need to have a complete proxy form filled out for them again this time. The proxy form is essentially “their ticket” to receive food.  (THE PROXY FORM HAS CHANGED SLIGHTLY FROM PREVIOUS GIVEAWAYS, SO PLEASE USE THE NEW FORM IF POSSIBLE.)  

The forms will be available before the giveaway at the Milbank ICAP office or they can also be printed from the Feeding South Dakota website at: Website at: https://www.feedingsouthdakota.org/general-uploads/TEFAP-Proxy-Effective-7-1-2024-through-6-30-2025.pdf.

As in the past, because of the event’s proximity to Highway 15, coordinators are asking that recipients arrive no earlier than 2:30 p.m. as volunteers will not be available to park vehicles until then. Brenda Maas, coordinator of the event, says. “No one wants to create traffic hazards on the highway. Please do not park in the church parking lot until volunteers arrive at 2:30 p.m. to give parking instructions.” If you pick up food for your family, you will enter the lot as directed and wait there for traffic flow directions.

Simply open your trunk or the back liftgate of your vehicle once it is in line, and volunteers will place the boxes inside.  Please have a space ready for the food so the traffic flow will not be disrupted. The church will be open during the giveaway.so restrooms will be available!

The next Giveaway will be on Wednesday, October 9.

Want to volunteer for the next giveaway? Need more information about receiving food? Feel free to text Brenda Maass, program coordinator, at 605.880.7176. Email her at brendajmaass@gmail.com.

Note: You will not be required to provide proof of income or your social security number. You will not be denied TEFAP foods if you refuse to reveal any information that is not a requirement of TEFAP. However, an agency may require further participant information for use with other programs. In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, religious creed, disability, age, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: How to File a Complaint, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 (2) Fax: (202) 690-7442, or (3) Email: program.intake@usda.gov. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.