2015 lfpp faq.pdf

Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP)

Frequently Asked Questions

Basic Information:

1. What is the difference between the Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) and the Farmers

Market Promotion Program (FMPP)?

LFPP promotes intermediary supply chain activities (activities that get products from the farmer to the market place other than the farmer selling directly to the consumer).

Applicants must aggregate, distribute, process or store locally or regionally-produced products (within a 400 mile radius). There are two grant sub-types under LFPP— planning and implementation. LFPP grants require a 25% match. Funding ranges from $5,000 to $100,000.

FMPP promotes direct-to-consumer activities (farmers selling products directly to consumers). There is no match requirement or grant sub-type for FMPP. Funding ranges from $15,000 to $100,000.

FMPP LFPP

CFDA Number 10.168 10.172

Grants offered Projects related to direct-to consumer marketing from $15K to $100K

Intermediary supply chain projects that aggregate, distribute, process and/or store agricultural products:

• Planning grants from $5K to

$25K

• Implementation grants from

$25K to $100K Matching Funds Not required 25% required

Required Forms (available on website)

FMPP Project Narrative Form FMPP Project Budget Form

LFPP Project Narrative Form LFPP Project Budget and Match

Form

Website www.ams.usda.gov/FMPP www.ams.usda.gov/LFPP

2. Are only domestic programs within the United States eligible?

Yes, as stated in Section 3.1 of the Request for Applications, “All applicants shall be domestic entities owned, operated, and located within the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.”

http://www.ams.usda.gov/FMPP

3. Can I apply for both FMPP and LFPP grants?

Yes, you may apply for both FMPP and LFPP as long as they are completely separate projects. You may not receive grant funding for both projects. If you are awarded funding for both projects, FMPP/LFPP staff will work with you to determine which project should be funded.

4. Can I receive an LFPP grant and a grant from a different USDA agency (VAPG, Farm to School, RBOG, etc.)?

Yes, as long as they are for different projects, you may receive both an LFPP grant and a grant from a different agency. It would be a good idea to check with the other grant program too to ensure that you are not violating their terms and conditions.

5. How do I get and show "Evidence of Applicant Debarment Status"?

Go to http://www.SAM.gov website and follow these steps:

• Click the third box: Search Records

• Click Advanced Search – Exclusion

• Use the SSN for individuals or TIN/EIN for organizations.

• Print the results and scan with your application, or save as a screen shot (Windows or Mac).

6. Does the LFPP Budget Form count towards the 12-page Grant Narrative limit?

No, the LFPP Budget Form is separate from the Grant Narrative form and the 12-page limit. However, the question on the narrative regarding the budget justification (Question

13) DOES count toward the 12-page limit. This question is intended to be a brief summary of what reviewers should expect in your LFPP Budget Form, and is not intended to be a complete regurgitation of the Budget Form itself. As stated in the narrative instructions: The purpose of the budget justification is two-fold: 1) to correlate the requested budget with the purpose/goals of the project, and 2) to demonstrate the requested budget is both reasonable and adequate for the proposed project.

Allowable and Unallowable Costs:

7. Does a project related to a processing or value-added product like fruit juices qualify for an

LFPP grant?

Yes, any form of agricultural food product is eligible for the grant.

http://www.sam.gov/ http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-xp/help/setup/take-a-screen-shot http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201361

8. Can a sole proprietorship apply for an LFPP grant?

Yes, but the project must benefit more than one individual. The applicant would use his/her IRS registered Tax Identification Number to register with DUNS/SAM.gov.

9. Can grant funds be used to purchase food for voucher/reimbursement programs?

No, grant funds cannot be used to purchase food for voucher/reimbursement programs.

They also cannot be used for loans or be re-granted.

10. Can I use grant funds to purchase land or buildings? Can land, buildings or labor count as in-kind matches?

Grant funds cannot be used to purchase land or buildings. Similarly, donated land and/or buildings cannot be used as in-kind matches. However, labor/personnel may be used as a match as long as you are only bringing the percentage of time the person is working on the project. For example, if someone is only spending 25% of his/her time working on the project, than you can only bring that 25% to the project as a match. Also, you must ensure that what you would normally pay that individual is reasonable according to standard personnel rates for similar positions in your geographic locality.

11. What is considered infrastructure if no construction or rehabilitation is allowed?

Infrastructure refers to refrigeration equipment, tents, tables, computer equipment and advertising. This list is not inclusive; if you are unsure if an item is included, please contact LFPP at USDALFPPQuestions@ams.usda.gov.

12. Can funds be used to purchase vehicles or repair and/or upgrade existing vehicles?

No, you may not purchase vehicles. You may, however, upgrade currently-owned vehicles as long as the upgrades apply to the project (considered “special equipment”).

You may also lease vehicles. Examples may include retrofitting buses to create mobile markets or outfitting trailers to become mobile processing units.

13. How will this grant fund my business?

The grant will not fund your business. The grant funds a particular project. Reviewers will evaluate the project based on evaluation criteria to determine its merits. For more information on the evaluation criteria, refer to the Request for Applications (Section 5.0).

Post-Award:

14. How are the funds going to be distributed? How long before I receive my payment?

The grant is funded on both an advance payment and a reimbursable basis.

Advancements should be requested at reasonable intervals (e.g. quarterly or as necessary to purchase large ticket items)—requests for all or the majority of your grant funds at one time will need prior approval from LFPP staff. Both advancements and reimbursable mailto:USDALFPPQuestions@ams.usda.gov http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateA&navID=FMPPGuidelinesLinkLFPP&rightNav1=FMPPGuidelinesLinkLFPP&topNav=&leftNav=&page=LFPPHowToApply&resultType=&acct=fmpp payments should be requested using the SF-270 form, which should be accompanied by proper source documentation. Payments typically take 5 to 10 business days depending on the amount of paperwork you are sending for review along with your payment request.

Payment is distributed via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to the bank account information you are registered under in SAM.gov—make sure your registration is up-to-date! AMS will NOT issue checks as payment.

15. What is the timeframe for the project?

The project begins on September 30 the first year and ends no later than September 29 the last year. See Planning versus Implementation Projects in the Request for Applications under Section 1.3.