Background

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food 

and Nutrition Service’s (FNS) Food Distribution 

Programs provide food and nutrition assistance to 

school children and families and support American 

agriculture by distributing high-quality, 100 percent 

American-grown USDA Foods.

This report analyzes State-of-origin data for Fiscal 

Year (FY) 2012,1 which capture the State where 

USDA purchased USDA Foods during FY 2012.

FNS works with USDA’s Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS) to purchase meat, poultry, fish, 

fruits, and vegetables and with the USDA’s Farm 

Service Agency (FSA) to purchase flour, baking 

mix, cereals, and dairy products. Food banks, soup 

kitchens, disaster feeding organizations, Indian 

Tribal Organizations, schools, charitable institutions, 

and other feeding organizations receive these USDA 

Foods for use in meal service or distribution to 

households, increasing access to healthy foods.

USDA offers over 180 types of food to these 

organizations. The organizations choose what to 

order based on several factors, including recipients’ 

preferences, storage and distribution capacity, and 

program requirements. Orders are filled through a 

competitive procurement process.

In FY 2012, USDA purchased over 2 billion 

pounds of food, worth nearly $2 billion. Purchased 

USDA Foods included both raw food products such 

as meats, vegetables, and fruits, as well as finished 

food products like cereal, crackers, and pasta.2

Data and Methods

For each State, the USDA Foods total dollar value 

and total weight were tabulated. Additionally, the 

 

1 Available online at 

http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/foods/food_purchases.htm

2 Note that these data do not include DoD Fresh purchases.

data were summarized to determine the distribution 

of purchased USDA Foods by product category 

type, such as meats, fruits, and vegetables.

Additional information about each food purchase, 

including the food product name, product type, 

product weight in pounds, and the product cost in 

dollars, is also included in this data. The State of 

origin indicates where the product was packed but 

may not indentify where the product was grown or 

raised. The USDA Web Based Supply Chain 

Management (WBSCM) System3is the source for 

the State-of-origin data used in this report.

Results

Figure 1. Percentage of USDA Foods Purchases by 

Food Category (Pounds Purchased) in FY 2012

Meat products consisting of beef, chicken, fish, 

ham, lamb, pork, and turkey accounted for the 

largest proportion (30 percent) of the weight of 

USDA Foods purchased in FY 2012. Fruits and 

vegetables represented the second and third largest

 

3 Available online at http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/WBSCM/default.htm

STATE OF ORIGIN FOR USDA FOODS IN FISCAL YEAR 2012

Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy Support March 2014
Figure 2. Map of the Dollar Value of USDA Foods Purchased in FY 2012

Icons represent the States with two highest dollar value of purchases of USDA Foods

weight share of USDA Foods purchased (over 21 

percent each).

Figure 2 displays the dollar value categories of 

USDA Foods purchased by State in FY 2012. States 

that are darker green in color indicate higher total

dollar values of USDA Foods purchases, while 

lighter colored States had lower total dollar levels of 

USDA Foods purchased. No USDA Foods were 

purchased in seven States, represented by the white 

hash lines on the map.

California, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and 

Texas were the States with the highest dollar value 

of USDA Foods purchased. On a per capita basis,4

the dollar value of USDA Foods purchased was 

greatest in New Mexico, Minnesota, and Arkansas.

 

4

2010 Census Population Estimates by State, US Census Bureau, 

available online at 

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/population.html

The map in Figure 2 also depicts large purchases by 

categories of USDA Foods products. There are two 

food category icons on the map for each of the 

USDA Foods categories purchased, which indicate 

the two States with the greatest dollar value of 

USDA purchases for that food category. For 

example, the cow icons in Texas and California 

indicate the two States with the greatest dollar value 

of beef purchases. 

Map Food Product Icon Key
Table 1. Quantity, Dollar Value, and Dollar Value per Capita of USDA Foods Purchased

By State in FY 2012

USDA Foods Purchased USDA Foods Purchased 2010 State Population USDA Foods Purchased

State* Quantity in Pounds in Dollars Estimates (Thousands)** Per Capita

Alabama 52,980,120 $46,707,536 4,780 $9.77

Alaska 3,936,264 $7,504,222 710 $10.57

Arizona 9,630,416 $6,791,554 6,392 $1.06

Arkansas 133,752,942 $74,436,399 2,916 $25.53

California 378,240,811 $415,068,878 37,254 $11.14

Colorado 17,419,710 $25,897,372 5,029 $5.15

Florida 10,556,740 $4,106,283 18,801 $0.22

Georgia 61,402,480 $65,784,068 9,688 $6.79

Idaho 30,396,229 $23,457,168 1,568 $14.96

Illinois 65,677,197 $97,920,923 12,831 $7.63

Indiana 44,173,432 $19,010,512 6,484 $2.93

Iowa 61,028,366 $64,512,023 3,046 $21.18

Kansas 43,037,600 $44,063,894 2,853 $15.44

Kentucky 14,918,000 $20,669,162 4,339 $4.76

Louisiana 3,660,447 $2,675,642 4,533 $0.59

Maine 16,603,600 $4,400,556 1,328 $3.31

Maryland 1,945,548 $1,853,040 5,774 $0.32

Massachusetts 1,733,388 $1,235,335 6,548 $0.19

Michigan 173,826,342 $113,791,157 9,884 $11.51

Minnesota 120,092,226 $169,138,939 5,304 $31.89

Mississippi 7,837,720 $24,153,292 2,967 $8.14

Missouri 38,581,471 $23,811,272 5,989 $3.98

Montana 1,658,080 $849,015 989 $0.86

Nebraska 24,136,520 $26,766,659 1,826 $14.66

Nevada 1,018,080 $1,074,862 2,701 $0.40

New Jersey 45,585,591 $23,105,994 8,792 $2.63

New Mexico 32,077,641 $58,023,297 2,059 $28.18

New York 18,641,059 $7,899,870 19,378 $0.41

North Carolina 50,587,766 $59,660,322 9,535 $6.26

North Dakota 5,854,920 $2,987,621 673 $4.44

Ohio 20,422,416 $34,667,515 11,537 $3.01

Oklahoma 4,905,880 $7,006,735 3,751 $1.87

Oregon 27,579,756 $14,850,618 3,831 $3.88

Pennsylvania 148,919,318 $124,827,456 12,702 $9.83

South Carolina 11,782,248 $9,615,895 4,625 $2.08

South Dakota 80,000 $195,492 814 $0.24

Tennessee 24,590,652 $30,896,047 6,346 $4.87

Texas 79,254,401 $106,305,176 25,146 $4.23

Utah 51,105,490 $19,079,042 2,764 $6.90

Virginia 2,976,062 $3,421,565 8,001 $0.43

Washington 83,502,627 $43,231,663 6,725 $6.43

West Virginia 9,393,480 $8,124,963 1,853 $4.38

Wisconsin 109,761,418 $86,158,253 5,687 $15.15

Total 2,045,264,453 $1,925,737,289 298,753 $6.45

* No USDA Foods were purchased in Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wyoming, or the District of Columbia.

**2010 Census Population Estimates by State, U.S. Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/population.html 
Pounds Dollars Pounds Dollars Pounds Dollars

Meat 625,032,569 879,368,573 Vegetable 446,852,201 193,121,724 Grain 173,863,364 87,225,025

California 76,964,880 154,632,926 Wisconsin 62,358,158 25,168,597 Michigan 9,060,369 12,709,719

Pennsylvania 111,148,301 91,659,295 Arkansas 46,074,712 21,858,504 Arkansas 31,626,000 11,962,222

Minnesota 56,848,380 91,657,791 California 38,175,000 16,931,143 Missouri 21,773,680 10,572,516

Texas 41,312,000 89,953,072 Michigan 31,139,097 16,513,637 Tennessee 8,357,940 5,590,425

Illinois 39,710,000 83,773,810 Indiana 42,154,282 16,296,561 Minnesota 9,278,142 5,093,697

Georgia 52,070,000 55,343,967 Oregon 22,562,256 11,805,261 California 7,927,020 4,235,879

Iowa 40,698,204 49,785,558 Illinois 22,551,195 11,604,888 Ohio 2,979,936 4,029,356

Alabama 52,980,120 46,707,536 Washington 35,862,975 10,761,962 North Carolina 6,189,720 3,675,640

Arkansas 45,743,600 36,315,768 Pennsylvania 19,991,907 9,607,495 Texas 11,808,540 3,370,534

North Carolina 27,521,762 36,196,817 New Jersey 13,280,325 9,094,702 South Carolina 5,397,160 3,117,788

Kansas 15,800,000 32,827,532 Idaho 23,137,939 9,052,476 Kansas 12,981,960 2,936,245

Mississippi 7,837,720 24,153,292 Minnesota 15,671,505 7,962,557 Wisconsin 6,296,040 2,641,830

Nebraska 9,449,520 17,937,803 New York 12,726,481 5,029,728 Utah 6,523,704 2,461,680

Missouri 14,160,000 11,803,747 Texas 12,348,243 4,987,596 New Jersey 4,579,680 2,432,505

Colorado 2,556,000 11,437,516 Florida 9,880,000 3,788,128 Iowa 3,699,632 1,864,049

Ohio 5,790,000 8,959,994 Louisiana 3,660,447 2,675,642 Arizona 4,159,280 1,862,344

West Virginia 9,393,480 8,124,963 North Carolina 3,521,724 2,011,420 Pennsylvania 6,017,400 1,614,335

Alaska 3,936,264 7,504,222 Maryland 1,945,548 1,853,040 North Dakota 3,229,000 1,286,300

South Carolina 3,444,000 4,776,566 Maine 15,400,000 1,495,340 New York 3,530,772 1,136,219

Oklahoma 2,055,000 3,624,153 South Carolina 2,599,088 1,468,460 Nevada 1,018,080 1,074,862

Virginia 1,292,978 2,987,343 Kansas 3,127,320 1,011,135 Montana 1,499,680 781,854

Maine 1,203,600 2,905,216 Georgia 792,000 458,528 Kentucky 1,043,280 750,105

Idaho 1,293,000 2,852,758 Colorado 1,800,000 361,600 Washington 638,472 605,880

Oregon 468,000 996,060 Nebraska 1,597,320 357,224 Nebraska 1,671,120 433,443

Washington 599,760 977,609 Tennessee 1,028,160 310,162 Virginia 1,575,000 377,271

Wisconsin 280,000 719,152 Kentucky 686,880 258,144 Oklahoma 401,760 370,228

Indiana 72,000 292,320 Missouri 899,640 206,018 Indiana 450,000 113,130

Kentucky 324,000 266,296 North Dakota 1,880,000 191,776 Illinois 23,998 68,153

South Dakota 80,000 195,492 Idaho 126,000 56,813

Pounds Dollars Pounds Dollars Pounds Dollars

Dairy 246,459,553 373,684,431 Fruit 471,700,502 313,085,542 Beans 38,988,160 25,957,352

California 42,491,261 81,377,937 California 212,682,650 157,890,992 Nebraska 11,127,680 7,866,861

Minnesota 32,165,880 60,219,899 Michigan 131,329,896 83,053,000 Kansas 11,128,320 7,288,982

New Mexico 28,345,641 51,267,865 Washington 46,131,420 30,715,136 Colorado 8,144,640 4,834,015

Wisconsin 23,548,810 46,477,560 New Jersey 27,725,586 11,578,787 Minnesota 6,128,320 4,204,995

Tennessee 12,434,400 22,949,229 Wisconsin 17,278,410 11,151,114 Texas 1,451,200 981,197

Pennsylvania 11,761,710 21,946,331 Arizona 5,471,136 4,929,209 Missouri 1,008,000 781,301

Ohio 11,410,560 21,258,358 Arkansas 10,308,630 4,299,906

Utah 44,463,514 16,157,285 Texas 8,381,778 2,692,355 Pounds Dollars

Iowa 16,630,530 12,862,416 North Carolina 5,707,200 2,276,761 Nuts 29,740,960 43,127,628

North Carolina 6,101,760 12,721,189 Oregon 4,009,500 1,701,792 Kentucky 12,863,840 19,394,618

Idaho 5,839,290 11,495,121 Georgia 1,108,800 1,573,348 Georgia 6,471,200 7,574,857

Colorado 4,919,070 9,264,241 Utah 118,272 460,078 New Mexico 3,732,000 6,755,432

Indiana 1,161,810 1,982,111 Florida 676,740 318,155 Texas 2,437,280 3,192,066

New York 2,383,806 1,733,923 South Carolina 342,000 253,080 Oklahoma 2,449,120 3,012,354

Georgia 960,480 833,368 Massachusetts 162,000 67,716 North Carolina 1,545,600 2,778,496

Missouri 740,151 447,692 Montana 158,400 67,162 Ohio 241,920 419,806

Oregon 540,000 347,505 Virginia 108,084 56,952

Nebraska 290,880 171,328

Washington 270,000 171,075

Pounds Dollars

Grand Total 2,045,264,453 1,925,737,289

Pounds Dollars

Oil 12,627,144 10,167,014

Illinois 3,392,004 2,474,071

Tennessee 2,770,152 2,046,231

Michigan 2,296,980 1,514,801

North Dakota 745,920 1,509,545

Massachusetts 1,571,388 1,167,619

Texas 1,515,360 1,128,357

Indiana 335,340 326,390

Table 2. Quantity and Dollar Value of USDA Foods Purchased

By Food Category and State in FY 2012

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Suggested Citation:

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy 

Support. “State of Origin for USDA Foods in Fiscal Year 2012,” by Dennis 

Ranalli. Alexandria, VA: March 2014. Available online at 

http://www.fns.usda.gov/ops/food-distribution-studies.