The USDA's Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) has on a national level rolled out updated guidelines prohibiting collecting addresses from program participants, and as our partners are aware with signing our new Partner Agreement, also prohibited requiring documentation (identification cards, bills, mail, etc.) of any kind during intake. This is on top of our sites no longer using geographic boundaries. This means all Oregon Food Bank programs serve any community members that walk through their doors regardless of where they're from, and are based entirely on self-declaration.  

Building on that, in collaboration with our partners at the Oregon Department of Human Services, we have been working to ensure we are in compliance with the entirety of updated guidance. One change that will go into effect immediately is an update to the residency question on intake Form 4. Effective immediately, it is no longer allowable to ask for a participants' address. Rather participants will provide a zip code and for those experiencing homelessness, they can put an ‘H’ in place of a zip code. You can refer to the updated TEFAP manual for in-depth information around updated residency and intake requirements. Please also look through the attached FAQ. 

Please share this information with your staff and volunteers supporting program participants and community members, and ensure this change is made. Please make sure:

1. You use the new form 4 (attached) that has removed all mention of address. This has been updated with the new 2025 income guidelines. (NOTE: OFB teams are working on printing and distributing new income guideline posters so there is some delay on this but we wanted to make sure you had the latest version of Form 4 for this change). The new form is also posted on our portals site. 

2. Ensure your site is now using the newest TEFAP Manual that reflects the most up to date program guidelines. This is attached and is also available on OFB Portals. 

3. We also created a FAQ sheet that is attached for any questions that may arise.

Please forward any questions to the Metro Services Team at mwcs@oregonfoodbank.org.