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Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs

FY2024: School Nutrition Equipment Assistance for Schools Continuance

Fund Codes: 722/757

Purpose:

The purpose of the School Nutrition Equipment Assistance Grant for Schools is to allow School Food Authorities (SFA) to purchase equipment needed to serve healthier meals that meet the updated meal patterns, with emphasis on serving more fruits and vegetables in school meals, improving food safety, expanding access, and to help support the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program. The grants will be effective in supporting SFAs, which have been experiencing supply chain disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 public health emergency and which have reported challenges in operating school food service.

Priorities:

To support awardees in their efforts to improve food safety, expanding access, and to help support the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program.

Eligibility:

Awardees of the FY23 FC722 and FC757 equipment grant who requested a no cost extension as allowed by the USDA award.

Funding Type:

Federal CFDA 10.579
Federal grant funds must adhere to:

  • UGG (2 CFR 200)
  • EDGAR As Applicable
  • EDGAR General Fiscal Administration 34 CFR Part 76
Funding:

USDA awarded the Massachusetts DESE approximately $40,000 in Federal FY 22 funds to support FY23 equipment grant awardees who requested a continuance of their FY23 award.

This RFP is the governing document for these grant funds.

Funding is contingent upon availability. All dollar amounts listed are estimated/approximate and are subject to change. If more funding becomes available, it will be distributed under the same guidelines that appear in this RFP document.

Fund Use:

In general, the funds may be used for purchasing equipment for the implementation of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) in (and only in) the specific school requesting the grant. Each unit of equipment purchased with the grant award must have a minimum value greater than $1,000. Examples include equipment for heating, cooking, holding, serving, and refrigeration of foods used in the NSLP. The grant funds can be used for installation and delivery costs of the equipment purchased. Equipment requests may include new equipment, renovation of equipment, or replacement of equipment. If the equipment purchased for the school is ever sold, the proceeds must be returned to the School's Nutrition Program Account. The performance period for the grant award, and that all procurement and expenditures activities must be completed by the project duration end date.

Project Duration:

Upon Approval – 6/30/2024

Program Unit:

Office for Food and Nutrition Programs

Contact:

Kerry Callahan

Phone Number:

(781) 338-6462

Date Due:

Friday, September 15, 2023**

**All responses must be received by the due date listed above. Failure to do so will result in disqualification. Responses not submitted on time will not be reviewed. Applicants applying after the due date may be notified their application was received late and will not be reviewed. Applications must be submitted as directed in the Submissions Instructions below. Failure to do so may result in disqualification. If you need assistance with submitting your application, please reach out to the contact person listed on this funding opportunity.

Required Forms:
Additional Information:

All equipment purchased with these grant funds must be tagged with a label identifying it as being purchased with Federal FY22 USDA School Nutrition Assistance Grant Funds.

Each equipment item requested for this grant must have a value of greater than $1,000. Any item with value between $1,000 and $5,000 should be appropriately budgeted on the supply line item of the budget (line 7). Any item $5,000 or more per item should be budgeted on the equipment line of the budget (line 11).

School Food Authorities (SFA) awardees will adhere to all Federal, State, and Local procurement laws and standards, including, if applicable, as found in 7 CFR Part 210.21 and 2 CFR 200.317 through 2 CFR 200.326

All equipment competitively procured using these grant funds must be necessary, reasonable, and allocable.

Upon award, recipients will be required to enter the approved budget and Part I in EdGrants. Once selected, recipients will be contacted with further instructions on the process.

Submission Instructions:

Submit all required grant materials through EdGrants
In EdGrants, districts are required to create and name the project. Please use the following naming convention for your "Applicant Project Name" in EdGrants:

  • FY24 722 School Nutrition Equipment Assistance for Schools Continuance (Applicant Name)

All items listed under the required forms section of this RFP should be uploaded / attached in the Attachments List formlet of the Application Submission in EdGrants. This includes a signed / scanned PDF of Part I / Coversheet with Superintendent's signature as well as Schedule A form, if applicable to your district. The final budget the applicant is requesting will be entered directly into EdGrants as part of the application submission process.

For Guidance Documents regarding EdGrants, visit EdGrants: User Guides, Information and Trainings.

Please note: It is up to the district to determine who they want to add as EdGrants Front Office users in order to submit grant application as well as payment request information. Please review the EdGrants: User Security Controls to make informed decisions regarding assigning your district level users.


USDA Nondiscrimination Statement

For all other FNS nutrition assistance programs, State or local agencies, and their sub recipients, must post the following Nondiscrimination Statement:

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: USDA Discrimination Complaint Form , from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant's name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

  1. mail:
    U.S. Department of Agriculture
    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
    1400 Independence Avenue, SW
    Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or

  2. fax:
    (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or

  3. email:
    program.intake@usda.gov


This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Last Updated: August 21, 2023

 
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