BPM007053_KitchenSyncStrategies_All_Attachments.pdf

RFGA ATTACHMENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

RFGA NO.: BPM007053

Kitchen Sync Strategies RFGA Proposal: BPM007053 Elliott Smith, CEO e| elliott@kitchensyncstrategies.com p| 206.455.4147

Table of Contents

Section Title Page

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1

ATTACHMENT 1: GRANT APPLICATION 2

ATTACHMENT 2: APPLICANT INFORMATION 4

ATTACHMENT 3: NARRATIVE RESPONSE TO SCOPE OF WORK 5

ATTACHMENT 4: EXPERIENCE AND CAPABILITY 11

ATTACHMENT 5: PROPOSED COSTS AND BUDGET 18

ATTACHMENT 6: DEVIATIONS AND EXCEPTIONS 22

ATTACHMENT 7: CONFIDENTIAL/PROPRIETARY SUBMITTALS 23

ATTACHMENT 8: DESIGNATION OF CONFIDENTIAL, TRADE SECRET AND

PROPRIETARY INFORMATION 24

ATTACHMENT 9: PARTICIPATION IN BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL 27

ATTACHMENT 10: FORCED LABOR OF ETHNIC UYGHURS BAN 29

EXHIBIT 1: CERTIFICATE OF LIABILITY INSURANCE 31

EXHIBIT 2: WORK SAMPLES 34

EXHIBIT 3: PERSONNEL RESUME 39

mailto:elliott@kitchensyncstrategies.com

ATTACHMENT 1

GRANT APPLICATION

State of Arizona Department of Education

1535 W. Jefferson Street Phoenix, AZ 85007

The Undersigned hereby applies and agrees to furnish the materials, service(s) or construction in compliance with all the terms, conditions, specifications, and amendments in the Request for Grant Application and any written exceptions in the Application.

Kitchen Sync Strategies Elliott Smith Applicant’s Name Name of Person Authorized to Sign Application

250 Cherry Springs RD CEO Street Address Title of Authorized Person

Hunt TX 78024 3 Sep 2025 City State Zip Code Signature of Authorized Person Date

Telephone Number: 206.455.4147

E-Mail Address: elliott@kitchensyncstrategies.com

Acknowledgement of Amendment(s): Amendment No. Date Amendment No. Date (Applicant acknowledges receipt of amend-ment(s) to the Request for Grant Application and related documents numbered and dated

ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATION AND GRANT AWARD

(For State of Arizona Use Only)

Your Application is hereby accepted as described in the Notice of Award. You are now bound to perform based upon the RFGA and your Application, as accepted by the State.

ATTACHMENT 1

GRANT APPLICATION

Department of Education

You are hereby cautioned not to commence any billable work or provide any material or service under this Grant until you receive an executed purchase order, Grant release document, or written notice to proceed, if applicable.

Awarded this ________ day of ___________________________2025.

State Government Administrator

ATTACHMENT 2

APPLICANT INFORMATION

1.1. Notices, Correspondence, Reports from the ADE to the Grantee shall be sent to:

Organization: Kitchen Sync Strategies

Attention: Elliott Smith, CEO

Street Address: PO Box 18103

City, State and Zip Code: Seattle, WA 98118

Telephone: 206.455.4147

E-Mail: elliott@kitchensyncstrategies.com

1.2. Payments from ADE to the Grantee shall be sent to:

Organization: Kitchen Sync Strategies

Attention: Elliott Smith, CEO

Street Address: PO Box 18103

City, State and Zip Code: Seattle, WA 98118

Telephone: 206.455.4147

E-Mail: elliott@kitchensyncstrategies.com

ATTACHMENT 3

NARRATIVE RESPONSE TO SCOPE OF WORK

I. NARRATIVE RESPONSE TO THE SCOPE OF WORK

The Applicant shall provide substantive information about the service or assistance program and its implementation to align with the scope of work. The narrative shall provide a clear and concise description of the service or assistance to be provided, including the target population(s), and/or geographic area(s) to be served.

1. Describe a service or assistance program plan that will:

a. Increase local purchasing capacity for schools and institutions operating Child Nutrition Programs; and/or

b. Provide local food promotional activities and/or nutrition and agriculture education for participating children in CNPs; and/or

c. Strengthen connections and integration of Farm to School and ECE activities statewide.

Response: I.1 Developing sustainable local food purchasing programs in schools and early childcare settings requires both sharp skills and strong relationships. Arizona is fortunate to have several existing support systems for schools and a growing support system for local producers interested in serving them, but it is clear that the state’s Child Nutrition Program (CNP) operators have significant room to increase local food purchases- and we are uniquely positioned to help them develop sustainable sourcing relationships with Arizona’s local suppliers and institutionalize their local purchasing processes and procedures. Kitchen Sync Strategies (KSS) proposes a project that addresses two of this RFGA’s program goals: increasing local purchasing capacity for schools and institutions operating Child Nutrition Programs, and strengthening connections and integration of Farm to School and ECE activities statewide.

Kitchen Sync Strategies has long connected schools with local foods by using Value Chain Coordination (VCC) approaches and school-specific tools. We propose to further CNP operators’ local purchasing skills and abilities through tailored VCC education and CNP-specific tool dissemination, and to directly cultivate connections between CNP operators and local producers and suppliers via 1:1 technical assistance. Our proposal includes four main activities to provide comprehensive support for CNP operators across the state. These activities, addressed in more detail below, include:

1. Conduct 15 key informant interviews with CNP operators and key value chain actors from diverse locations and scales across the state to determine procurement barriers specific to school types, geography, foodservice structures, and sociocultural context

2. Compile an Arizona Farm-to-CNP Operators toolkit with highly usable, customizable tools and resources that advance local purchasing goals

3. Deliver three VCC for Farm-to-CNP workshops

4. Provide in-depth 1:1 Technical Assistance to up to 10 SFAs and/or ECEs (up to 10 hours each) to identify and procure local food in the 2026-2027 School Year

First, to ensure the trainings, toolkits, and TA we provide via this project are tailored to serve the needs of CNP operators statewide, KSS will conduct in-depth interviews with at least 15 SFAs or other operators (including ECE sites) from a variety of geographies, scales, and student populations served and at least 5 other key transactional actors in Arizona’s farm-to-school value chains (including producers, food hubs, and/or other suppliers). While each operator (and producer/food hub/distributor) faces unique challenges, many of them share challenges and could benefit from coaching and tools specific to their geography, foodservice structure, and/or scale. These key informant interviews will help KSS clarify themes facing CNP operators when it comes to local procurement across the State, and we will clarify specific tactics that can be utilized by CNP operators and SFAs who lead programs in very small to very large contexts, from rural, suburban to urban settings, those who are self-operated versus those with foodservice management companies, and Tribally affiliated schools.

Existing farm to school tools and resources largely lack the nuance and specificity that are relevant for school districts whose size and location varies as much as those across Arizona. For example, the approach to and resources needed for local procurement for a district like Chandler Unified differ widely from that of Duncan Unified (Greenlee County) given the differences in their purchasing power, their urbanness/ruralness, and the prevalence of food distributors capable of providing local food, and several other factors.

KSS will use these themes from diverse CNP programs to create an Arizona Farm-to-CNP Operators Toolkit full of immediately usable resources tailored to CNP programs. We expect this toolkit to share compiled knowledge and digital tools that support procuring local food from producers, aggregators, and distributors, as well as resources specifically designed for school districts with varying geographies, contexts, and student enrollment. The specific resources will be clarified in response to informant interviews in the above phase of work and could include (but are not limited to):

● ‘How to’ descriptions of setting up procurement processes with local farmers and suppliers, and the information needed to start outreach with suppliers.

● Fillable purchase planning worksheets SFAs can share with local producers and vendors to convey the timing, product specifications, logistics needs, velocities, and scale of demand for AZ-grown goods.

● Templatized small purchase/solicitation language and process flowcharts that guide CNP operators in successfully procuring foods beyond their micropurchase thresholds.

● Fillable, USDA-FNS approved RFP examples from similarly scaled SFAs to prioritize and procure locally-grown produce, proteins, and value-added products from a range of suppliers

● Succinct procurement calendars and tips’n’tricks for maximizing local procurement through ASPIN or other purchasing cooperatives.

Additionally, KSS will design and deliver three "Value Chain Coordination for Farm to CNP" workshops each accommodating up to 20 SFA or ECE CNP operators. Our workshops will dive deeply into the important differences in applying the strategies of VCC to different geographies, scales and contexts.

These workshops will include two virtual and one in-person training and will focus specifically on how SFAs can apply VCC strategies to:

● increase local food procurement for year-round service and menuing,

● boost parent/student enjoyment and take rates by serving budget-friendly, student-approved

Arizona-grown ingredients,

● effectively communicate their procurement needs and plans to Arizona producers, food hubs, and distributors, and

● successfully identify and procure produce, proteins, value-added products, and other meal components from Arizona producers and suppliers.

Drawing from our extensive experience co-creating and delivering similar VCC trainings nationwide (including with the Wallace Center and National Farm to School Network) and our recent 4-part farm-to-school and farm-to-institution workshop series with the Oregon Farm to Institution Collaborative, KSS will design workshops that suit Arizona's unique agricultural landscape, CNP procurement challenges, and seasonal availability. This past experience positions us to deliver practical, immediately applicable training that bridges the gap between Arizona's abundant ag ecosystem and CNP sites across urban, suburban, and rural districts statewide.

Lastly, to help CNP operators apply the approaches from our trainings and toolkit, KSS proposes offering an average of 10 hours of intensive 1:1 technical assistance to 6-10 CNP operators across Arizona (ideally a diverse mix in size and geography), creating a 100 hours of additional TA support. We understand that overstretched foodservice staff often have a need for additional support and coaching to actually implement the skills they have acquired. Our team of farm-to-school specialists and value chain trainers will identify- with Arizona Department of Education’s guidance and support- up to 10 school districts and/or CACFP sponsors to receive up to 10 hours each of hands-on TA from KSS staff focusing on the local procurement needs they have identified. We expect the content of our 1:1 TA to focus on processes and topics to include (but not be limited to):

● Connecting SFAs with local producers and suppliers and helping to find appropriate sources of local food

● Navigating local procurement within foodservice management companies

● Improving the SFA’s internal procurement policies to support larger volumes of local purchasing

(including increasing procurement thresholds and school wellness policies)

● Implementing values-based procurement standards and practices beyond local (i.e. for regional, sustainable, or equitably grown food)

● Leveraging various foodservice budgets with DoD Fresh, FFVP, and USDA Foods to maximize local purchasing

● Conducting effective vendor-buyer meetings with prospective vendors

● Navigating food safety and delivery logistics of direct farm purchases in rural regions with limited distribution options

Our staff and internal systems are already in place to provide the proposed services above, as some of them build off successes we’ve accrued working with CNP operators and State Departments of Education in other states. Our personnel plan (outlined below) will guide our strategy and actions, and we will keep a sharp focus on adding to the existing database of resources and support for local purchasing across the state. Arizona has the benefit of multiple nonprofits and organizations working to bring local food into schools. These groups focus on some key aspects of this work like school garden support, convening food systems networks, and/or supporting producers to enter school marketplaces, but none specifically target the work of supporting CNP operators to purchase food (beyond farmers or food hubs individually conducting their own sales). In preparing this proposal, KSS connected with several of these organizations to discuss our focus on upskilling CNP operators to more effectively ‘meet producers where they are’ and be more skillful and tactical in implementing their local purchasing goals. We shared how our proposal complements those being submitted by Pinnacle Prevention and Blue Watermelon Project, and we shared our intent to collaborate with them as well as Local First Arizona.

2. Detail the expected reach of the service or assistance program. Include a timeline or framework, if known or established.

Response: I.2 This proposal will reach statewide and engage CNP operators at different levels of readiness. Our informant interviews will be carefully designed to engage CNP operators across multiple regions of the state (including tribally-affiliated schools) to understand unique barriers faced by schools in their different regional contexts. We will then craft a toolkit that addresses the training and needs identified in interviews that can support CNP operators statewide in their efforts to procure local food. The information we uncover will also provide the basis of our trainings, which will be open to CNP operators across Arizona. Finally, we will provide in-depth 1:1 technical assistance to 10 SFA or CNP operators in Arizona. We will base the selection of TA recipients on the degree of readiness to engage in TA, rather than targeting specific geographic goals; however, we expect TA to include CNP operators from multiple parts of the state.

These proposed services are designed to reach a broad swath of Arizona's CNP operators while building statewide capacity for sustainable farm-to-CNP programming, including among its most underserved school districts and ECE sites. Our multi-tiered approach will directly serve 60+ CNP operators through VCC for Farm-to-CNP workshops, with 6-10 operators receiving intensive technical assistance. We will ensure our efforts include rural and tribal school districts where Farm to School activities are less accessible, including districts and CNP operators outside the largest counties of the State (i.e. in Apache, Navajo, Graham, and Greenlee counties where limited infrastructure and geographic isolation create unique procurement challenges). Our proposal recognizes Arizona's diverse CNP landscape, from large urban districts to very small rural operators with just a few hundred students, ensuring that all workshop material and best practices are tailored to their different operational scales and geographic contexts. By focusing on both NSLP and CACFP operators, we will extend farm-to-CNP benefits beyond traditional K-12 school settings to include early care and education providers, summer feeding programs, and afterschool sites.

Activity Estimated Timeline

CNP Operator Interviews Nov 2025- Feb 2026

Farm-to-CNP Toolkit creation March-June 2026

VCC for Farm to CNP Trainings May-Sept 2026

1:1 TA provision Feb-Sept 2026

Finalize Evaluation Aug-Sept 2026

3. Identify the expected impact or result of the service or assistance.

Response: I.3 We expect two main impacts as a result of this project.

First, CNP participants using the toolkit, taking part in trainings, and receiving 1:1 TA will increase their knowledge of how to procure locally, implement specific processes and tools to procure local food during the 2026-27 school year, and improve their confidence in doing so for years to com.

Second, CNP operators will increase their local food purchasing and strengthen their connections to local producers, food hubs, and other local food suppliers. TA support will directly increase CNP operators’ planned local purchases and connections for the 2026-27 school year, while educational support will indirectly increase purchases through enhanced knowledge of processes and tools.

4. Outline tools to be used and methods planned for measuring the results/outcomes and evaluating activities.

Response: I.4 Change in knowledge: We will evaluate participant change in knowledge via post-participation surveys for training participants and TA recipients. These surveys will ask participants to reflect on knowledge acquisition and change in confidence (or self-efficacy) in purchasing local food.

Amount of local purchasing: For CNPs receiving direct TA, we will collect the value of local food in dollars that they project to purchase as a result of our TA planning process. Where data is available from CNPs about their previous year purchases, we will compare past purchases to current and planned purchases to quantify changes in purchasing amounts, which we expect will increase as a result of our intervention.

Supplier connections: For CNPs receiving direct TA, we will consider the number of suppliers they are working with and the value of purchases from suppliers. We will collect the number of new buyer-supplier connections created as a result of our TA. Where data is available about past purchases from existing suppliers, we will consider increased purchasing from past suppliers to indicate a strengthened supplier-buyer transactional connection and collect the number of strengthened connections.

5. Outline how the proposed services/assistance plans and anticipated results can be shared to benefit the public and Arizona’s Farm to School/ECE community.

Response: I.5 The resources created in this project will continue to be available to the public and Arizona’s Farm to school/ECE community, continuing to benefit stakeholders long beyond the timeframe of our work. Our Arizona Farm-to-CNP Operators Toolkit and workshop materials will serve as evergreen, lasting resources for Arizona's entire CNP ecosystem, creating a foundation for sustained local procurement growth that extends well beyond the grant period. We will create the Toolkit and upload it to our own existing resource database as well as support the Arizona Department of Education in continuing to disseminate these tools via their website (and will certainly make them available to CNP operators who participate in our trainings and/or TA). Furthermore, we will share the results of our evaluation and successes in reporting to Arizona Dept. of Ed and, with permission from CNP training and TA participants, we will also share successes that arise from this project in public forums, such as on our social media and website.

ATTACHMENT 4

EXPERIENCE AND CAPABILITY

II. EXPERIENCE AND CAPABILITY

The Applicant shall describe how their organization is positioned to address the current issues or barriers to advancing farm to school programming amongst producers, food hubs, distributors, schools, and early care institutions.

6. Describe the applicant’s experience in designing and/or delivering effective evidence-based programming around your proposed service or assistance program.

Response: II.6 Value Chain Coordination or VCC is a multi-disciplinary evidence-based approach to local food systems development that brings together strategies from the fields of rural sociology, business, economic development, and food systems. It uses systems thinking principles to understand and then shift how information, risks, and ultimately profits are distributed throughout a local food economy. KSS has applied the strategies of VCC to farm-to-school, farm-to-institution, and farm-to-ECE environments since 2020, specifically focusing on the VCC role of market matchmaking to support CNP operators and other institutions to identify and procure local food for their foodservice. While VCC remains underutilized within the school nutrition and foodservice fields nationally, recent investments by the USDA (which have since been altered by subsequent funding cuts) have highlighted the many opportunities to apply the approach to efforts aimed at improving local food procurement in schools (i.e. the USDA’s now-terminated LFS, LFPA, and RFBC programs).

With our deep knowledge of VCC, we’ve co-designed training curricula and delivered multiple trainings for practitioners in local food and in Farm-to-School and Farm to Institution. With Sarah Rocker, PhD, we developed a vVCC curriculum and delivered it to value chain practitioners across the nation in partnership with Wallace Center (2021-2024), delivered this training to VCC professionals focused on Indigenous ranchers (2024), and those focused on creating value chains for sustainable agriculture in the Midwest (2024 and 2025). We have further honed our trainings to focus on Farm to Institution and Farm to School, bringing this evidence -based programming to those audiences to support the Oregon Farm to Institution Collaborative, Washington Department of Agriculture, Food Corps, National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), Association of State Public Health Nutritionists (ASPHN), and others.

KSS is deeply committed to our work being practitioner-led and ground-truthed, which is why we will first interview practitioners within Arizona’s school food ecosystems to ensure our work remains reflective of practitioners’ realities. Our human-centered approach to gathering the specific information needed for our toolkit is well established: KSS is using this same approach to guide our creation of a similar Toolkit for the Oregon state Department of Agriculture to increase local food purchasing in that State’s Farm to CNP Reimbursement Grant programs (funded by state Farm to School Formula Grant funding).

Additionally, as with all our Farm-to-CNP work nationally, we will draw from our reservoir of means-tested tools to support CNP operators in AZ with purchase planning, procurement forms (i.e.

small purchase templates, successful RFP example language, etc.), value-added product nutritional crediting, and/or marketing and promotion materials for local food.

7. Describe the applicant’s experience and strategies in working effectively with the population your service or assistance intends to reach.

Response: II.7 Since 2019, Kitchen Sync has focused on preparing CNP operators for success nationwide by utilizing proven value chain coordination strategies and focusing on the levers of procurement. We know that this work requires systems thinking and a human-centered approach, and as such we have dedicated our time to supporting both transactional actors (including school foodservice directors, producers, aggregators, distributors, and) and support actors (i.e. community nonprofits, state and federal agencies, and others) to understand the systems in which Farm-to-CNP work happens, and developing tools to help all actors with more technical components of local procurement.

We have extensive experience providing trainings to farm-to-school actors and CNP operators and supporting the advancement of local food procurement through technical trainings and workshops to coalitions with a range of partners We have delivered similar VCC trainings nationwide (including with the Wallace Center, Food Corps, National Center for Appropriate Technology, and National Farm to School Network) as well as State-level workshops with the Washington State Department of Agriculture and Oregon’s Farm to Institution Collaborative. We’ve also provided many Farm-to School trainings for CNPs and CNP-adjacent support actors in long-form trainings and in conference workshops, breaking down complicated steps of local procurement into accessible actions to SFAs through Oregon’s Farm to School Institute, Mid-sized New England SFAs through Massachusetts Farm to School Network, and to ECE sites through Quality Care for Children (a CACFP sponsor in Georgia).

We have created myriad written materials and tools for CNP operators across the US, covering a wide range of topics within school food. Our work is heavily focused on upskilling CNP operators through hands-on support (described more below), and this leads us to create materials that serve as references, guides, and/or customizable templates that help the operators continue implementing the tools that are specifically tailored to their geographies, scales, etc.

Examples of some these tools include (but are not limited to)

● Procurement decision trees to best utilize food spend for local purchasing (to help SFAs know how to leverage entitlement funding sources and discretionary foodservice budgets)

● Local food procurement calendars for SFAs (to inform SFAs and local food producers/suppliers about the most opportune times to coordinate, plan, and ultimately facilitate local purchases)

● Purchase planning documents to help SFAs more strategically purchase local food, understand seasonality, local supplier logistics, per-serving costs, and values-based procurement impacts.

Work examples for these may be found in Attachment 11.

Finally, we have conducted extensive, in-depth 1:1 technical assistance for SFAs and ECEs seeking to advance their local purchasing, which inevitably includes support for the suppliers in their region with whom we’re coordinating product procurement. We have done this work in multiple geographies since 2019 (see our map below for a sense of the states in which we’ve conducted this work), and our work has focused in two main areas: 1) supporting CNP operators to build procurement systems to improve their local sourcing and foodservice, and 2) instigating local purchasing events for CNP operators. Having such extensive experience supporting SFAs and ECE operators to prepare for local purchasing and also helping them execute local purchases gives us a unique and holistic set of skills to support Arizona’s CNP operators.

KSS’s strategy in working with CNP operators is to meet them where they are- to first listen and learn about their food service operations and challenges, and then craft tailored solutions based on the CNP provider’s operations and level of readiness. We respond to each operator’s capacities and help them learn and advance different strategies within their operational, budgetary, and logistic constraints. For CNP operators early in their local purchasing journeys, we help identify the lowest hanging fruit to launch their programs (such as engineering local swaps for items they already purchase). For more advanced operators, we find efficiencies that accelerate and scale their local sourcing (like crafting local produce specific RFPs, structuring year-long purchase plans with food hubs, and designing menus that reflect local availability).

Some examples of KSS support to CNP operators to build procurement systems

Some examples of KSS support to instigate local purchasing events

- Guiding Austin Independent School District (TX) and Boston Public Schools (MA) to achieve values-based procurement goals through the Good Food Purchasing Program

- Supporting 8 SFAs and networks of partners to increase local purchasing through USDA-FNS funded PLANTS grant initiative

- Supporting Camden City School District (NJ) to rewrite and award new RFP for Food Service Management Contractor (FSMC) to advance social and environmental impact of school nutrition department

- Supporting 30+ Washington State SFAs to maximize the state’s Farm-to-School Purchasing Grant and LFS rollout (including large procurement with the State’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction)

- Supporting 200+ Montana SFAs and ECEs to access a value-added product we co-created called Montana Marinara

- Supporting 25+ SFAs in Colorado to purchase local food with the state’s Local Food Program incentive funding and LFS rollout

- Supporting 15+ SFAs in Iowa to continue local purchasing through food hubs post-LFS termination

- Supporting 15+ SFA & ECEs in Oregon to connect with local food hubs and make purchases

A map of State in which KSS has provided the above Farm-to-CNP services since 2019:

8. Describe the qualifications, experience working with the proposed population, and previous experience with the types of services to be provided for each of the Key Personnel listed on Key Personnel Table of question 10. Applicant shall attach a resume for each of the key personnel proposed. Resumes or curriculum vitae (CV) that includes personal information such as home address, phone numbers, social security numbers, etc., should be redacted as documentation will become public information after award of a contract.

Elliott Smith will oversee this assessment as the project manager. Elliott will lead the project, create strategy around workshops, toolkit creation, and play a lead role in TA . Elliot has extensive experience supporting the development of resilient, localized food economies, with a specific expertise in how CNP operators can accomplish local purchasing goals through partnerships with food hubs and other local food suppliers. As Co-Founder and CEO of KSS, Elliott co-created a VCC curriculum and workshop to train practitioners and delivered it to multiple local, regional, and national cohorts and USDA leadership.

He has directly facilitated hundreds of transactions between CNP operators and local producers and has worked one-on-one with buyers to analyze their purchasing patterns and develop opportunities for increased local procurement. Elliott led a team that initiated over $5.4M in sales for food hub clients across the US since 2021.

Kayla Koether will support project design, and directly implement data collection, analysis, evaluation, and toolkit creation. As Director of Regional Growth at Kitchen Sync, Kayla provides direct TA to stakeholders on food systems development and supports food hubs and aggregators in developing strategies. At KSS she has designed survey instruments and conducted interviews with SNAs in Oregon and provided technical assistance to Farm to School projects in multiple states. She has also provided assessments of institutional sales readiness to food hubs in Oregon and Iowa and has analyzed food systems in Hawai’i. Kayla previously led the Farm Viability Department at Practical Farmers of Iowa, where she established the local foods program and partnered to develop Iowa’s Local Food for Schools.

Prior to that, as a Foods Systems Specialist at Iowa State Extension, Kayla co-facilitated the Iowa Food Hub Manager’s Working Group, evaluated food hubs’ role in serving a state-level school purchasing incentive for local food and providing support and business TA to 10 food hubs across the state. Kayla also led the redesign of the Iowa Food Hub, a non-profit hub focused on school and institutional sales, managing it during its successful transition to a new business model.

Abigail Blinn, Regional Food Sales Lead at Kitchen Sync Strategies, will support data collection, 1:1 technical assistance, and training efforts on this project. Abigail provides 1:1 technical assistance to institutional buyers including K-12 schools, hospitals, higher ed institutions, and corporate dining. She supports buyers in planning procurement around local availability to close sales for food hubs and local food aggregators. Abigail received her dietitian credentials from Penn State and the University of New Hampshire with a focus in sustainable food systems. Prior to joining Kitchen Sync, she specialized on Farm to School across Oregon, where she worked extensively with foodservice to generate demand for local foods, and coordinated supply from small farms to meet that demand.

9. Describe two major accomplishments that demonstrate the Applicant’s effectiveness and capacity to provide services or assistance as described in the narrative.

KSS has several accomplishments we can point to to illustrate our capacity to provide the above services to ADE. While many of our successful projects are still actively in process and have not yet reached maturity, below we highlight two accomplishments which have been fully realized and underscore our strategic approach to the complexity inherent in increasing local food in schools.

Accomplishment #1: Design, coordinate, and facilitate distribution of blending local-commodity product (Montana Marinara) for SFAs across Montana In 2020, KSS began connecting Montana schools and the State’s Office of Public Instruction (OPI) with local farms, ranches, processors, and food hubs in the state. We used our skills of VCC to coordinate with farms, a rural food processor, a food hub, and OPI to create and distribute Montana Marinara- a value-added school food product that blends commodity tomatoes with local squash, onion, and carrots and makes a product available to every SFA across the state. We coordinated the supply of raw ingredients (helping producers plan harvest dates, our food hub partner plan logistics, and the processor plan their production schedule) and we collaborated closely with OPI to help them initiate an innovative (and their first ever) In-State Processing Agreement with the rural processor which allowed for the agency to divert USDA Foods/commodity products. This process took 2 years to design and implement, and since school year 2022 we have helped 204 SFAs purchase over 4,000 cases of Montana Marinara across a vast and overwhelmingly rural state. KSS’ accomplishments with Montana Marinara illustrate how we have the skills, grit, and creativity to upskill actors throughout the value chain and create scalable solutions that bridge local purchasing within existing school food systems.

Accomplishment #2: Support NW Food Hub Network, Washington State Department of Agriculture, and Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to implement Farm-to-School incentive programs Starting in 2021, KSS helped launch the NW Food Hub Network, a collaborative effort of 3 farmer-owned cooperative food hubs across Washington and Montana. In the same year, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) launched their Farm-to-School Purchasing Grant, a state-level local food incentive program for SFAs. We were able to connect with dozens of SFAs statewide to help them develop purchase plans and ultimately procure from small and mid-sized farms in-state through the NW Food Hub Network and participate in the incentive program. In late 2021, USDA-AMS announced the launch of the Local Food for Schools program, and Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) soon announced the program to SFAs statewide. Many SFAs (and OSPI) initially struggled to structure purchases from local farms who, in turn, were struggling to develop their own procedures to serve SFAs and the State. Since 2021, we have facilitated purchases of over $3.1m of local food, serving some 30+ schools from the Washington’s Coast to Central Montana, including supplying OSPI with over $630k in local food for its LFS program. We remain in regular communication with the SFAs, helping them understand the nuances of seasonality, product specifications, and local producer needs while at the same time connecting food hub staff with food service directors to strengthen the state’s farm-to-school network. This has resulted in sustainable, strong relationships between the 3 food hubs, the 200+ producers they serve, and the SFA dining staff, ultimately helping the SFAs leverage their foodservice budgets to consistently access local food throughout the school year. KSS’ unique role as a trusted TA provider to both suppliers and SFAs and our expertise in market matchmaking allowed us to train and provide hands-on support to CNP operators, State Agencies, and food suppliers alike.

10. List all key personnel by name, position and/or title, responsibilities and percent of time to be assigned to this Grant. Key personnel is defined as staff involved in the planning, administration, operation, or monitoring of this Grant.

Key Personnel Table

Full Name Position/Title Responsibilities % Time

Assigned to Grant

Elliott Smith CEO Project Manager, guiding design and supporting implementation of workshops and creation of Toolkit

14%

Kayla Koether Director of Regional Growth

Head trainer, leading workshops and analysis of CNP operator interviews, 20% toolkit creation, evaluation, and administrative coordination

Abigail Blinn Regional Food Sales Lead

Support with CNP operator interviews and workshops, general coordination support with ADE and CNP operators statewide

12%

ATTACHMENT 5

PROPOSED COSTS AND BUDGET

III. PROPOSED COSTS AND BUDGET

The Applicant shall provide sufficient detail to outline the costs associated with the service to be provided and explain the relative proportion of costs to the expected reach and impact on the target population.

11.Provide a detailed budget narrative that describes how category costs are derived and justifies the proposed costs over the period of performance for the grant.

Response III. 11 Personnel and personnel-related expenses: The KSS team will consist of Elliott Smith, Kayla Koether, and Abigail Blinn. Elliott will lead the project, create strategy around workshops and toolkit, and play a lead role in TA to CNP operators. He is budgeted for 300 hours at a rate of $115/ hour, totalling $34,500 in salary. Kayla will lead interviews and analysis of CNP operators, will synthesize and create toolkit materials, and support TA to CNP operators. Kayla is budgeted for 420 hours at a rate of $80/ hour, totalling $33,600 in salary. Abigail Blinn will co-facilitate trainings, provide direct TA for CNP operators, and support data collection, analysis, and toolkit material creation. Abigail is budgeted for 240 hours at a rate of $50/ hour, totalling $12,000 in salary.

KSS budgets 30% of salary for fringe; which is $10,350 for Elliott, $10,080 for Kayla, and $3,600 for Abigail.

Travel expenses: Mileage is budgeted for 1500 miles of driving at $0.71/ mile (planning for an increased IRS rate due to inflation in 2026), or $1,065. In addition, airfare (combined in the mileage category) is budgeted for 4 round-trip flights at $500 each, or $2,000, for a total in the mileage category of $3,065. For meals and incidentals, a per-diem of $62.00/day is budgeted for 18 days, which would cover 3 personnel for 6 days each, totalling $ 1,116. Lodging to travel for trainings and TA is estimated at $200/night. Estimating 5-6 nights for each of three personnel, we have budgeted for 16 nights, for a total of $3200.

Supplies: We will lean on our teleconferencing and our virtual whiteboard software extensively throughout the course of this project, and especially during virtual trainings. Therefore we will cover two months worth of expenses for this software, or 16.6% of the cost of this software during the 12 month project timeframe. Our costs for Zoom and Mural are on average $125/ month, so for two months we’ve budgeted $250. For in-person gatherings, we expect the cost of printed materials and other paper products and workshop materials such as flip charts, markers, easels, and other interactive materials to cost around $750. We also intend to support participants to join in-person by offering $200 honoraria to cover travel costs to/from the workshop (for up to 20 guests, totaling $4000) and we are budgeting $2000 for the location and miscellaneous fees for reserving a meeting space.

Total costs: Our total direct costs outlined above sum to $136,533.50. With an indirect rate of 15%,or $20,480.03, our total proposed budget is $157,013.53.

12.Describe the Applicant’s accounting practices, including how expenses will be tracked and reported in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

Response III. 12

Our organization maintains GAAP-compliant accounting practices through QuickBooks Online. We utilize standard GAAP procedures for all our work and we code all expenses and revenues according to fund sources and generate real-time expenditure reports with complete audit trails. We also conduct robust monthly financial reconciliation processes conducted by our accountant, who validates all grant-related expenses against approved budgets, ensures proper classification of direct and indirect costs, and maintains digital archives of all supporting documentation. Additionally, our expenditure approval system provides multiple checkpoints for accuracy and compliance with all company expenses. Since all our transactions are coded with specific fund source identifiers, we can seamlessly provide ADE with detailed financial reports that distinguish between budget categories.

13.Complete the Proposed Costs and Budget table below.

Proposed Costs and Budget Template NOTE: Allowable costs are located at 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E

Equipment with acquisition costs of $10,000 or more is unallowable.

1. PERSONNEL TOTAL BRIEF EXPLANATION

1a. Elliott Smith $ 34,500

Elliott will serve as project manager, guiding design and supporting implementation of workshops and creation of Toolkit, and leading TA with CNP operators.

Estimated 300 hours total

1b. Kayla Koether $ 33,600

Kayla will be our head trainer, leading workshops and analysis of CNP operator interviews, toolkit creation, and evaluation while supporting TA with CNP operators and administrative coordination.

Estimated 420 hours total

1c. Abigail Blinn $ 12,000

Abigail will support CNP operator interviews and co-facilitate workshops, provide general coordination support, and apply her dietetic expertise in our TA to CNP operators.

Estimated 240 hours total.

2. PERSONNEL-RELATED

EXPENSE/BENEFITS TOTAL

BRIEF

EXPLANATION (Applicant Organization’s fringe benefits policy)

2a. PERSONNEL 1a. $ 10,350 Assumes standard KSS fringe rate of 30%

2b. PERSONNEL 1b. $ 10,080 Assumes standard KSS fringe rate of 30%

2c. PERSONNEL 1c. $ 3,600 Assumes standard KSS fringe rate of 30%

3. TRAVEL TOTAL BRIEF EXPLANATION

3a. Mileage $ 3,065 1500 miles driving plus 4 round-trip flights (at $500/each)

3b. Meals & Incidentals $ 1,116 Assumes MI&E of $62/day for 18 days (6 each for 3 personnel)

3c. Lodging $ 3,200 Assumes lodging rate of $200/night for 16 nights (5-6 nights each for 3 personnel)

4. SUPPLIES

TOTAL BRIEF EXPLANATION (Less than or equal to a unit cost of $10,000.

4a. Supplies required for two virtual VCC workshops $ 250

Covers 2 months each of KSS teleconferencing software and virtual whiteboard software

4b. Supplies required for in-person VCC workshop $ 2,750

Covers facility reservation, printing materials, markers, flip charts, and sticky notes for in-person workshop

4c. Travel honoraria for in-person workshop participants

$ 4,000 To issue $200 travel honoraria for up to 20 attendees for in-person workshop

5. OTHER PURCHASED

SERVICES/PROFESSIO

NAL SERVICES

TOTAL BRIEF EXPLANATION

5a. $ 5b. $

6. TOTAL COSTS TOTAL BRIEF EXPLANATION

6a. Total Direct Costs $136,533.50 Total direct costs of project 6b. Total Indirect Cost (if applicant organization has an $20,480.03 15% de minimis rate of Modified

Total Direct Costs (MTDC) approved Indirect Cost Rate Agreement)

ATTACHMENT 6

DEVIATIONS AND EXCEPTIONS

State of Arizona Department of Education

Solicitation No.: BPM007053 Description: Arizona Farm to School Assistance and Services

Offeror Name: Kitchen Sync Strategies (Elliott Smith)

Offeror shall indicate any and all exceptions taken to the provisions or specifications or scope of work in this solicitation document.

Exceptions (mark one):

X No exceptions

__________ Exceptions taken (describe –attach additional pages if needed)

***Exceptions taken that ADE considers a material change or a large number of exceptions will impact Offeror’s susceptibility for award.***

The Undersigned hereby acknowledges that there are no deviations/exceptions to this solicitation other than those noted.:

Firm

Authorized Signature

ATTACHMENT 7

CONFIDENTIAL/PROPRIETARY SUBMITTALS

State of Arizona Department of Education

Offeror Name: Kitchen Sync Strategies (Elliott Smith)

Confidential/Proprietary Submittals (mark one):

___X___ No confidential/proprietary materials have been included with this offer

__________ Confidential/Proprietary materials included. Offerors should identify below any portion of their offer deemed confidential or proprietary (see Uniform Terms and Conditions, paragraph 19).

Identification in this section does not guarantee that disclosure will be prevented but that the item will be subject to review by the Offeror and the ADE Representative prior to any public disclosure.

***Requests to hold the entire offer or price as confidential will result in the Offer being deemed Not Susceptible for Award.***

Firm

Authorized Signature

ATTACHMENT 8

DESIGNATION OF CONFIDENTIAL, TRADE

SECRET AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

State of Arizona Department of Education

All materials submitted as part of a response to a solicitation are subject to Arizona public records law and will be disclosed if there is an appropriate public records request at the time of or after the award of the contract. Recognizing there may be materials included in a solicitation response that is proprietary or a trade secret, a process is set out in A.A.C. R2-7-103 (attached) that will allow qualifying materials to be designated as confidential and excluded from disclosure. For purposes of this process the definition of “trade secret” will be the same as that set out in A.A.C. R2-7-101(52).

This form must be completed and returned with the response to the solicitation and any supporting information to assist the State in making its determination as to whether any of the materials submitted as part of the solicitation response should be designated confidential because the material is proprietary or a trade secret and therefore not subject to disclosure.

All offerors must select one of the following:

X My response does not contain proprietary or trade secret information. I understand that my entire response will become public record in accordance with A.A.C.

R2-7-C317.

My response does contain trade secret information because it contains information that:

1. Is a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique or process, AND

2. Derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use; AND

3. Is the subject of efforts by myself or my organization that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy.

Please note that failure to attach an explanation may result in a determination that the information does not meet the statutory trade secret definition. All information that does not meet the definition of trade secret as defined by A.A.C. R2-7-101(52) will become public in accordance with A.A.C. R2-7-C317. The State reserves the right to make its own determination of Proposer’s trade secret materials through a written determination in accordance with A.A.C. R2-7-103.

If the State agrees with the proposer’s designation of trade secret or confidentiality and the determination is challenged, the undersigned hereby agrees to cooperate and support the defense of the determination with all interested parties, including legal counsel or other necessary assistance.

SECRET AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

State of Arizona Department of Education

By submitting this response, proposer agrees that the entire offer, including confidential, trade secret and proprietary information may be shared with an evaluation committee and technical advisors during the evaluation process. Proposer agrees to indemnify and hold the State, its agents and employees, harmless from any claims or causes of action relating to the State’s withholding of information based upon reliance on the above representations, including the payment of all costs and attorney fees incurred by the State in defending such an action.

Kitchen Sync Strategies

Company Name Signature of Person Authorized to Sign

250 Cherry Springs Rd Elliott Smith Address Printed Name

Hunt TX 78024 CEO City State Zip Title

R2-7-103. Confidential Information

A. If a person wants to assert that a person's offer, specification, or protest contains a trade secret or other proprietary information, a person shall include with the submission a statement supporting this assertion. A person shall clearly designate any trade secret and other proprietary information, using the term "confidential." Contract terms and conditions, pricing, and information generally available to the public are not considered confidential information under this Section.

B. Until a final determination is made under subsection (C), an agency chief procurement officer shall not disclose information designated as confidential under subsection (A) except to those individuals deemed by an agency chief procurement officer to have a legitimate state interest.

C. Upon receipt of a submission, an agency chief procurement officer shall make one of the following written determinations:

1. The designated information is confidential and the agency chief procurement officer shall not disclose the information except to those individuals deemed by the agency chief procurement officer to have a legitimate state interest;

2. The designated information is not confidential; or

SECRET AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

State of Arizona Department of Education

3. Additional information is required before a final confidentiality determination can be made.

D. If an agency chief procurement officer determines that information submitted is not confidential, a person who made the…