U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Administration

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration leverages its [16 nutrition assistance programs](https://www.fna.usda.gov/programs) to ensure children, income eligible individuals, and families have access to healthy, safe, and affordable foods that promote optimal health and well-being, while building a more resilient food system. We accomplish this by partnering with over 175 states, U.S. territories, and Tribal organizations that operate federal nutrition programs. Our programs serve 1 in 4 Americans over the course of a year. **Our mission is to nourish those in need through financially sound programs that promote health and work, as well as champion the productivity of American agriculture.** **History of FNA** The agency was established on Aug. 8, 1969, a few months before the first White House Conference on Food, Nutrition and Health. Many of the programs and activities we administer today were formed or expanded due to recommendations from the 1969 Conference. Most notably, this includes: - Significant expansions to Food Stamps (now known as SNAP), increasing the number of Americans served from 2 million in 1968 to 11 million by 1971. - Increasing the reach of the National School Lunch Program, which served 2 million children before the conference and expanded to serving 8 million by 1971. - Permanent authorization of the National School Breakfast Program in 1975, which was also inspired by the Black Panther Party’s Free Breakfast for School Children Program, started in 1969. - Authorization of the pilot for the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children in 1972, which later become the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC Program) we know today. - Setting the stage for the development of the *Dietary Guidelines for Americans*, which serve as the cornerstone for federal nutrition assistance programs.