 The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), a component of the USDA, provides the funds to the Puerto Rican government's Department of the Family to operate the program through an annual block grant, which covers the full cost of the benefits to participants, as well as fifty percent (50%) of the costs required to administer the program (the remaining 50% must be provided by the Puerto Rican government).Although federal regulations require Puerto Rico to pay the benefits during the year for which the annual block grant was awarded, since 2002 the federal government has allowed Puerto Rico to use 2% of an annual surplus for benefits in future years.As a condition of receiving the grant, the P.R.