FAC Explorer

Finding 1170824 (2025-001)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
E
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-01-28
Audit: 384099
Organization: West Ohio Food Bank (OH)
Auditor: E S EVANS AND COMPANY

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: Eleven recipients of the Senior Box Distribution Program were receiving benefits based on applications older than twelve months.
  • Impacted Requirements: The program mandates that recipients must submit a new application and be approved every twelve months to maintain eligibility.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement internal controls to ensure timely renewal of applications and halt distributions to recipients without valid, up-to-date applications.

Finding Text

Noncompliance – Eligibility Food Distribution Cluster CFDA 10.565 Commodity Supplemental Food Program G-2425-17-0759 U.S. Department of Agriculture Criteria: The Senior Box Distribution Program requires that recipients complete a new application and be approved for participation every twelve months. Condition: During our testing of the Food Distribution Cluster, it was found that 11 of the 60 recipients of the Senior Box Distribution Program selected for testing were receiving a distribution based on a completed and approved application that was more than twelve months old. Cause: Staff responsible for the program during the year were not monitoring application dates and renewing expiring applications in a timely manner. Effect: If updated eligibility information is not received per program guidelines, distributions could be made to recipients whom are no longer eligible for the program. Known Questioned Costs: We identified: 11 individuals x the average cost of a Program box: $26.56 = $292.16 Likely Questioned Costs: Based on our sample results, we estimate that an additional 3,300 Program boxes x the average cost of a Program box $26.56 = $87,648.00 worth of Program boxes may have been distributed to individuals with expired applications on file. Context: Sixty Senior Box distributions were tested. Eleven were found to be distributed without a valid application on file. Repeat Finding? No. Recommendation: It is our recommendation that the agency implement internal control procedures to ensure that all applications are renewed within a twelve-month period, and that recipients without a valid application on file do not receive distributions until a valid, up-to-date application has been obtained. Views of responsible individuals and planned corrective action: West Ohio Food Bank agrees with this finding. Please refer to the corrective action plan on Page 34.

Corrective Action Plan

CFDA 10.565 Commodity Supplemental Food Program Name of Contact Person: Shelly Neeley, Program Specialist Corrective Action: Eligibility requirements regarding the Commodity Supplemental Food program (CSFP) are recognized by West Ohio Food Bank (WOFB) and WOFB continues making internal controls a top priority in the program’s operation. There are currently 1,800 applications processed through WOFB and 43 site locations for CSFP. These include those applicants on the active list and the wait list as well as those who may not qualify for the program. During the auditing process, there were 11 participants that did not have a current/updated application on file yet received a distribution. To ensure that all applications are renewed within a twelve-month period, and that the recipients without a valid application on file do not receive distributions until a valid, up-to-date application has been obtained, WOFB has begun to implement and will continue implementing the following internal control procedures. WOFB will continue to update/renew all applications each March to have all expiration dates within the same month each year. The master spreadsheet has also been updated to include parameters that will flag an upcoming expiration date. This will assist the senior sites in knowing more timely who needs a renewal application at their location. In addition, Pantry Trak/Fresh Trak is being updated and revised. I have been working closely with Mid-Ohio in revising the CSFP portion to better meet the needs of the program at WOFB. The ultimate goal is to use the Pantry Trak system to log and track all CSFP information electronically. This too will increase the accuracy of the data. As an additional audit of accuracy WOFB will conduct an internal audit monthly by randomly pulling a sampling of 3 percent (48) of the 1,600 CSFP recipients to verify the accuracy of the applications on file. Proposed Completion Date: The processes implemented will be ongoing. As the Pantry Trak program tool continues to improve its use for tracking and logging, use for CSFP will increase.

Categories

Subrecipient Monitoring Eligibility Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
10.569 EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (FOOD COMMODITIES) $1.89M
93.558 TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES $921,034
10.182 PANDEMIC RELIEF ACTIVITIES: LOCAL FOOD PURCHASE AGREEMENTS WITH STATES, TRIBES, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS $531,049
10.187 THE EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (TEFAP) COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT FUNDS $490,953
10.565 COMMODITY SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD PROGRAM $167,060
10.568 EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS) $156,335
10.194 COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION (CCC) FUNDING TO ALLEVIATE EMERGENCY SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION IN THE COMMODITY SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD PROGRAM (CSFP) $73,782
93.667 SOCIAL SERVICES BLOCK GRANT $20,964
10.561 STATE ADMINISTRATIVE MATCHING GRANTS FOR THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM $9,809