NOTIFICATION OF EFSP PROGRAM STATUS (As of May 2026)

Greetings from the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) National Board.

Over the past 16 months, there has been little communication with program participants regarding the status of the program. This notification is to share that EFSP continues to operate and that the program was awarded funds in Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025, $117 million for each grant. For the FY2024 grant, awards were made to qualifying jurisdictions (counties and cities) and State Set-Aside (SSA) Committees and they have been posted on the EFSP website, www.efsp.unitedway.org, under FY2021/ARPAR/2022/2023/2024 Funding, then select Phase 42 (FY2024) Allocations.

In the recent Homeland Security and Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026, EFSP was awarded $123.5 million. As you may know, during the partial Federal Government shutdown, funding to the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) were on hiatus, which impacted the EFSP. Since the end of the shutdown and passing of the DHS funding appropriation, FEMA has resumed their work on EFSP. As quickly as possible, the National Board will meet and decisions regarding allocations will be made so that funds can be awarded to Local Boards and SSA Committees expeditiously. Notice will be sent to all qualifying Local Boards and SSA Committees, and it will be posted on the EFSP website. It is important to note that implementing this year's grant will require significant changes to the EFSP program approvals and payment processes. We will communicate more about these adjustments in a separate message.

In the interim, EFSP staff continue to perform to ensure work of the program progresses. The following are a few of the activities staff focused on and reminders for Local Boards, State Set-Aside Committees and LROs:

• updating information on the EFSP website;
• Final Reports submissions; and,
• implementation of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), a new security requirement to access the EFSP website

Click here to download the pdf document and read more details on the above activities.

Please read the entire document carefully and as necessary, respond when EFSP sends subsequent notifications via email to Local Boards, SSA Committees, and Local Recipient Organizations (LROs). There will be instructions included in each of the notifications regarding requests and responses that may be necessary.

If you have any questions about this message, please contact EFSP staff at efsp@uww.unitedway.org or 703-706-9660.

Thank You,

Emergency Food and Shelter Program
701 North Fairfax Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-2064
Tel: 703-706-9660
Fax: 703-706-9677