Social Work Government Resources: Basic Needs

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget of needy families so they can purchase healthy food and move towards self-sufficiency.

Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is administered in each state or territory by state health departments. Contact the WIC state or local agency serving your area to schedule an appointment.

For all FNS programs other than SNAP, use the state and program selections on this webpage.

The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) works to improve the health of low-income persons at least 60 years of age by supplementing their diets with nutritious USDA Foods. USDA distributes both food and administrative funds to participating states and Indian Tribal Organizations to operate CSFP.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) contractors deliver fresh produce, milk, dairy and cooked meats to disadvantaged Americans across the country.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program allows schools to use USDA Foods entitlement dollars to buy fresh produce.

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) coordinates with state, local, and voluntary organizations to provide nutrition assistance to those most affected by a disaster or emergency.

The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is a federal program that helps supplement the diets of low-income Americans by providing them with emergency food assistance at no cost. USDA provides 100% American-grown USDA Foods and administrative funds to states to operate TEFAP. States provide the food to local agencies that they have selected, usually food banks, which in turn distribute the food to soup kitchens and food pantries that directly serve the public.

Learn how to get nutritious food for yourself and your family through SNAP (food stamps), D-SNAP, and WIC for women, infants, and children. Apply for school meals for your kids and supplemental food for seniors. Find out how food programs can provide emergency help.

View Food and Nutrition Benefits. Filter by state to find services in your local area.

Explore reliable resources on food, nutrition, physical activity, and food safety to help you build healthy habits.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) purchases a variety of 100% domestically produced and processed commodity food products. These purchases support American agriculture by encouraging consumption of domestically-produced foods. The wholesome, high-quality products purchased by USDA—collectively called USDA Foods—are delivered to schools, food banks and households in communities across the country, and are a vital component of our nation’s food safety net.

USDA's food distribution programs strengthen the nutrition safety net through the distribution of USDA Foods and other nutrition assistance to children, low-income families, emergency feeding programs, Indian reservations, and the elderly.

Search these frequently asked questions for immediate answers to the most common questions about indoor air quality (IAQ) or send a question to the customer care team.

EPA’s 10 Regional Offices work closely with Headquarters to manage agency programs at the State, Tribal, and local level. For information on indoor air quality specific to your State, Tribe, or EPA Regional office, select the appropriate link from the list or map.

The Clean Air Act calls for state, local, federal and tribal governments to implement the Act in partnership to reduce pollution. Roles vary depending on the nature of the air pollution problem.

Air quality information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Outdoor air quality has improved since the 1990s, but many challenges remain in protecting Americans from air quality problems. Ground-level ozone, the main part of smog, and particle pollution are just two of the many threats to air quality and public health in the United States.

EPA’s 10 Regional Offices work closely with Headquarters to manage agency programs at the State, Tribal, and local level. For information on source water specific to your State, Tribe, or EPA Regional office, select the appropriate link from the list or map.

Drinking water comes from ground water (aquifers), streams, rivers, and lakes. Protecting these drinking water sources is key to sustaining safe drinking water supplies. Explore this site to learn the basics of source water protection, including assessment and implementation, and how you can help protect the source of your drinking water.

Explore these webpages to become knowledgeable about drinking water requirements. Learn what you can do to ensure your water is safe to drink.

Is your community prepared for a day without water? Strong partnerships with water utilities can help communities rebound quickly when water service is interrupted.

Contact a person in your local community who helps people who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH): Find essential services and resources in your community for homelessness.

Local agencies provide a range of services, including food, housing, health, and safety. Contact a national hotline or locate an organization near you.

A summary of public housing programs within the Office of Public and Indian Housing.

If you need public housing assistance or would like specific information about public housing programs such as housing choice vouchers, please contact your local Public Housing Agency. To view contact information for Public Housing Agencies in your city and state, select your state from the list-box or use the map.

USDA’s Rural Housing Service offers a variety of programs to build or improve housing and essential community facilities in rural areas. They offer loans, grants and loan guarantees for single- and multi-family housing, child care centers, fire and police stations, hospitals, libraries, nursing homes, schools, first responder vehicles and equipment, housing for farm laborers and much more.

Well built, affordable housing is essential to the vitality of communities in rural America. Housing Programs give families and individuals the opportunity to buy, build, repair, or own safe and affordable homes located in rural America. Eligibility for these loans, loan guarantees, and grants is based on income and varies according to the average median income for each area.

Learn how the Department of Housing and Urban Development provides rental assistance.

In addition to the federal rental assistance, homeownership and home buying assistance programs, there may be programs sponsored by your state or local government or other organizations that can help you. Select the state that interests you.

The Office of Housing plays a vital role for the nation's homebuyers, homeowners, renters, and communities through its nationally administered programs. It includes the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the largest mortgage insurer in the world.

Get information and services to help with finding and keeping a home.

Learn about government programs that help low-income people find affordable rental housing. Each of the programs - subsidized housing, public housing, and housing choice vouchers - is different. Get the details on how they work, who is eligible, and how to apply.

The housing choice voucher program provides assistance to very low-income families to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing. Housing can include single-family homes, townhouses and apartments and is not limited to units located in subsidized housing projects. Housing choice vouchers are administered locally by Public Housing Agencies (PHAs). A family that is issued a housing voucher is responsible for finding a suitable housing unit of the family's choice where the owner agrees to rent under the program. A housing subsidy is paid to the landlord directly by the PHA on behalf of the participating family. The family then pays the difference between the actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the program.

Search for resources for housing and public utilities. Filter by state to find available services.

Department of Housing and Urban Development: Find housing policies and programs by state.

Health and Human Services provides resources for persons experiencing homelessness.

This collaborative program between HUD and VA combines HUD housing vouchers with VA supportive services to help Veterans who are homeless and their families find and sustain permanent housing.

The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) coordinates and catalyzes the federal response to homelessness, working in close partnership with senior leaders across 19 federal member agencies.

Housing provides a foundation from which a person or family can access the services and supports they need to achieve stability, begin the recovery process, and pursue personal goals.

Locate Regional Coordinators for the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provides services for people experiencing homelessness. Transitional or supportive housing and homeless shelters can help stabilize people with mental health issues and substance use disorders who are experiencing homelessness.

SAMHSA’s (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) grant programs and services support efforts for ending and preventing homelessness among people with mental and/or substance use disorders.

Find available housing assistance for rural areas after a natural disaster.