Table of Contents: Summary Introduction Legal Basis Definitions Eligibility Requirements Allocation and Ordering Storage Delivery Losses Transfers Use and Sale of Commodity Foods Food Safety and Recalls Disaster Feeding Processing Civil Rights Guidelines Commodity Compliance Reviews School Nutrition Program

The USDA Donated Foods Program, commonly called  commodities, began during the 1930s. Congress enacted legislation that allowed the United States government to purchase “surplus commodities” from the open market and to redistribute these foods to persons in low income groups.

The regulations for USDA Commodities are found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Chapter 7.

Table of Contents - Select Chapter and choose the Go button.  SummaryIntroductionLegal BasisDefinitionsEligibility RequirementsAllocation and OrderingStorageDeliveryLossesTransfersUse and Sale of Commodity FoodsFood Safety and RecallsDisaster FeedingProcessingCivil Rights GuidelinesCommodity Compliance ReviewsSchool Nutrition Program