The Food Stamp Employment and Training (FSET) Program is an uncapped source of federal funds that reimburses fifty cents of every dollar spent on employment and training activities for eligible food stamp clients.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture administers and funds FSET, and the California Department of Social Services designates counties to administer FSET programs at the local level. 

While many non-profit organizations and community colleges provide educational and employment services to FSET eligible food stamp recipients, until now, few have captured the federal reimbursement available to them to support this work. Recently, the State of Washington pioneered an FSET pilot program that provides a model for how communities can draw down more federal funding to increase the employment possibilities for low-income people.

In this model, community colleges and community based organizations use their existing non-federal funding, such as FTES and philanthropic sources, to match federal FSET funds and cover costs of employment and training programs for eligible food stamp recipients. This funding could be administered through a contract with the state or county government, but not directly with the federal government. The FSET Expansion Initiative, a project of the Insight Center for Community Economic Development (formerly known as the National Economic Development and Law Center), seeks to replicate this third-party match mechanism that has generated an additional $2 million for participating colleges and CBOs in its first two years in Washington. 

For more information, contact the FSET Expansion Initiative partners, Insight Center for Community Economic Development and California Association of Food Banks.