Food and Nutrition Service

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), was established on August 8, 1969. The FNS is the federal agency responsible for administering the nation’s domestic nutrition assistance programs. The service helps to address the issue of hunger in the United States. It administers the programs through its headquarters (HQ) in Alexandria, VA; regional offices (ROs) in San Francisco, Denver, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, and Robbinsville (NJ); and field offices throughout the US. While its staff number among the USDA's fewest, its budget is by far the largest.