FY 2026 Child Nutrition NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant Request for Applications.docx

Fiscal Year 2026 National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grants

Fiscal Year 2026 Request for Applications (RFA) Assistance Listing Number (ALN): 10.579

This information is being collected to assist USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in receiving key information from grant applicants that is needed to evaluate and rank applications, therefore protecting the integrity of the grantee selection process. This is a voluntary collection and FNS will use the information to solicit applications for the National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grant. This collection does not request any personally identifiable information under the Privacy Act of 1974. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-0512. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 1.00 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy Support, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314 ATTN: PRA (0584-0512). Do not return the completed form to this address.

Application Checklist

This Application Checklist provides applicants with a list of the required actions and documents that must be completed. However, FNS expects that applicants will read the entire RFA prior to the submission of their application and comply with all requirements outlined in the solicitation. The Application Checklist is for applicant use only and should not be submitted as part of the Application Package.

Complete the following at least four weeks prior to submission:

· Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number;

· Register the UEI number in the System for Award Management (SAM); and,

· Register in grants.gov.

When preparing your application, ensure:

· Application format and narrative meet the requirements included in Section 4 – Application and Submission Information and Appendix B – Application Template.

· This includes page limits and all necessary attachments (e.g., Subgrantee RFA).

When preparing your budget, ensure the following information is included where applicable:

· All key staff proposed to be paid by this grant.

· Your organization’s fringe benefit rate and amount, as well as the basis for the computation.

· The type of fringe benefits to be covered with Federal funds.

· Types of equipment and supplies, justifications, and estimates, ensuring that the budget is in line with the project description.

· Indirect cost information (either a copy of a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) or if no agreement exists and the applicant has never been approved for a NICRA, they may charge up to 15% de minimis). If an applicant is requesting the de minimis rate or indirect costs are not required, please state this in the budget narrative.

When submitting your application, ensure you have submitted the following:

· SF-424 – Application for Federal Assistance (fillable PDF in Grants.gov)

· SF-424A – Budget Information and Instruction Form (fillable PDF in Grants.gov)

· SF-424B – Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (fillable PDF in Grants.gov)

· SF-LLL – Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

· FNS-906 – Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire (fillable PDF in Grants.gov)

· Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, if applicable (PDF - Upload using the “Add Attachments” button under SF-424 item #15)

Table of Contents

1. Program Description and Objectives Executive Summary Under the leadership of Secretary Brooke Rollins, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is committed to strengthening strategies to encourage healthy choices, healthy outcomes, and healthy families. In support of this principle, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is pleased to announce the availability of $20 million to provide grants on a competitive basis to State agencies for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Equipment Assistance Grants, as authorized under the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (Public Law 119-4), and the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026 (Public Law 119-37).

Program Description The NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant provides funds to NSLP State agencies to administer competitive subgrants to eligible local education agencies (LEAs), school food authorities (SFAs), and schools for the purchase of equipment valued at greater than $1,000. The purpose of the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant is to help ensure that schools have the equipment they need to serve healthier meals, improve food safety, and to support the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of the School Breakfast Program (SBP).

Since 2010, the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grants have been used to modernize school kitchens nationwide, address equipment disparities in underserved areas, and promote strategies that foster healthy choices for students. In previous years, the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grants have been provided on a non-competitive basis through the FNS Regional Offices. This competitive Request for Applications (RFA) is a new process, and State agency applicants should review the RFA thoroughly to ensure full understanding of the updated requirements and procedures.

As part of the application to this grant, State agency applicants must develop and submit the RFA they will use to competitively award the subgrant. State agencies may consider any LEA, SFA, or school participating in NSLP as eligible to receive an NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant award (subgrant).

Selection criteria that State agencies are encouraged to consider when awarding the subgrants may include, but are not limited to, the following:

· Opportunities to improve the nutrition and quality of meals, including supporting the implementation of updated nutrition requirements for school meals.

· Age or lack of appropriate food service equipment.

· Ability of food service equipment to increase the efficiency of procurement, food storage, and distribution/service.

· The availability of existing State and local funding for equipment purchases.

· Strategies for adopting cafeteria changes that provide more convenience and appeal to the student.

A State agency may use up to five percent of its allocation for State-level administrative costs associated with awarding grants to eligible subgrantees.

Key Objective Below is the Program Objective. As noted in Section 4, within the “Activities/Indicators Tracker,” proposed activities should be clearly aligned to this objective and its associated activities and indicators.

Application proposals must include the objective below. Note that if awarded, grantees will be required to report on progress towards activities aligned with the required objective and must use the FNS-908 Performance Progress Report. Carefully considering proposed activities and indicators will prepare grantees for their progress reporting requirements if awarded.

2. Federal Award Information The following information is intended to provide applicants with information to help make informed decisions about proposal submissions.

· Total amount of funding expected to award: $20 million

· Anticipated number of awards: 54

· Minimum award amount (award floor): $25,000.00

· Maximum award amount (award ceiling): $2,362,417 * Review Appendix A - State Funding Allocation for individual State funding award ceiling

· Anticipated award announcement date: August 2026

· Anticipated period of performance (start and end date of the award): September 15, 2026 – September 30, 2028

· Application due date: May 28, 2026

Awards will be made to State agencies on a competitive basis. Each State agency can apply for up to the funding amount designated for them on Appendix A - State Funding Allocation. These amounts have been determined by formula. FNS is distributing $20 million in available funds by setting a $25,000 base grant amount and distributing the remaining funds using Child Nutrition State Administrative Expense (SAE) allocation formula.

Important notes:

· Grant awards are subject to the availability of funding and/or appropriations of funds.

· Should additional funds become available this year or the subsequent fiscal year, FNS may make those funds available to FY26 grantees to support additional equipment subgrants.

· State agencies must competitively subgrant to eligible LEAs, SFAs, or schools. State agencies must complete the initial award phase by January 5, 2028.

· Unused funds must be returned by subgrantees to State agencies during the performance period. Within the performance period and subgrant timeframes, State agencies can reallocate funds and award the next applicant approved for an equipment grant that has not received funds during the initial competitive grant application process.

Allowable Costs To accomplish the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant Program goals, grantees must ensure that funds are provided as subgrants to LEAs, SFAs, and schools. In approving subawards, State agencies must ensure the funds are used by the LEAs, SFAs, and schools for the purchase and installation of equipment with a value of over $1,000.

State agencies may utilize up to five percent of their award for grant administration, which may include expenses related to personnel, equipment and supplies, and training.

All costs proposed in the budget and detailed in the budget narrative must be allowable, reasonable, necessary, and allocable. Refer to 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles for a detailed description of all allowable and unallowable costs.

A complete listing of selected items of costs is located at 2 CFR 200.420 – 200.476.

Subgrantees Subgrantees will be required to follow procurement regulations at 7 CFR Part 210.21 and 2 CFR Part 200.317-327. Equipment competitively procured using these grant funds must be necessary, reasonable, and allocable. State agencies’ NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant announcements (i.e., the RFA to eligible subgrantees) must highlight the requirement to follow all Federal, State, and local procurement laws when purchasing equipment with these grant awards. In addition, FNS clarified that installation costs are considered an allowable expense under the Equipment Assistance Grant in memorandum SP 06-2025 National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grants: Installation Expenditures.

Unallowable Costs State agencies and subgrantees must follow the rules outlined in 7 CFR 210.14(a); noting the construction of buildings is prohibited.

3. Eligibility Information Eligible Applicants There are 54 States responsible for administering the NSLP that have agreements with FNS that are eligible to apply (please refer to Appendix A – State Funding Allocation). In States where more than one agency has an agreement in place with FNS to administer the NSLP, the primary NSLP State agency (i.e. the agency that serves the majority of SFAs) is the agency that is eligible to apply for this grant opportunity.

In States with more than one agency, the primary agency is required to coordinate with the secondary NSLP State agency (which serves a smaller portion of SFAs) to ensure that all LEAs, SFAs, and schools can apply for NSLP Equipment Assistance Grants.

Applicants that do not meet the eligibility definition will be deemed ineligible and removed from competition without further consideration.

Note: In cases where an applicant is deemed nonresponsive for failing to submit required elements or documents associated with this RFA, they will be considered ineligible and removed from consideration.

Cost Sharing or Matching Considerations There are no cost sharing or matching requirements for this award.

Pre-Award Screening Requirements In reviewing applications in any discretionary grant competition, prior to making a Federal award, Federal awarding agencies, in accordance with 2 CFR 200.205, are required to review information available through any OMB-designated repositories of government-wide eligibility qualifications or financial integrity information. Additionally, Federal awarding agencies are required to have a framework in place for evaluating the risks posed by applicants before they receive Federal awards. The FNS review of risk posed by applicants will be based on the following:

· SAM.gov, the System for Award Management, the Official U.S. Government system that consolidated the capabilities of CCR/FedReg, ORCA, EPLS, and FAPIIS.

· FNS Risk Assessment Questionnaire (FNS-906)

· Applicants must complete the Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire that allows FNS to evaluate aspects of the applicant’s financial stability, quality of management systems, and history of performance, reports, and findings from audits. The questionnaire contains a number of questions that may be an indicator of potential risk.

The evaluation of the information obtained from the designated systems and the risk assessment questionnaire may result in FNS imposing special conditions or additional oversight requirements that correspond to the degree of risk assessed.

Acknowledgement of USDA Support As required in 2 CFR 415.2, the recipient must have an acknowledgement of the USDA awarding agency support placed on any information dissemination products with any Federal financial assistance support, including those which report the results of, or describe, a Federal financial assistance-supported activity. Grant recipients may be asked to host USDA officials for a site visit during the course of their grant award. All costs associated with the site visit will be paid for by USDA and are not expected to be included in grant budgets.

4. Application Content Information Content and Form of Application Submission FNS strongly encourages eligible applicants interested in applying to this program to adhere to the application template (Appendix B). The proposed project plan should be presented on 8 ½” x 11” white paper with at least 1-inch margins on the top and bottom. All pages should be single-spaced in 12-point font. The project description with relevant information should be captured on no more than 5 pages, not including subgrantee RFA, budget narrative(s), and required forms. All pages, excluding form pages, must be numbered.

Special Instructions:

· Applications that are submitted late will not be considered in this competition. FNS will not consider additions or revisions to applications unless they are submitted via Grants.gov by the deadline. No additions or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

· Applications submitted without the required supporting documents, forms, and certifications will not be considered.

· Applications missing a written proposal or budget narrative will not be considered and will be deemed non-responsive and removed from further consideration.

· FNS reserves the right to request clarification on any application submitted in response to this solicitation.

· Applications not submitted via Grants.gov will not be considered.

· If multiple application packages are submitted through Grants.gov by the same applicant in response to this solicitation, FNS will accept the latest application package successfully submitted. All other packages submitted by the applicant will be removed from this competition.

Cover Sheet The cover page should include, at a minimum:

· Applicant’s name and mailing address.

· Primary contact’s name, job title, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address.

· Grant program title and subprogram title.

Application Project Summary The application should clearly describe the State agency subgrant process and the anticipated outcomes that would result if the proposal were to be funded.

Project Narrative The project narrative should clearly identify how the subgrant process will meet the requirements of the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant objective of providing subgrants to LEAs, SFAs and schools to purchase equipment to serving healthier meals, improving food safety, and/or helping support the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of SBP.

The following should be addressed in the narrative:

· Describe the grant process ensuring the planned approach is competitive and fair.

· Describe how LEAs, SFAs and schools can justify their need for equipment in this process.

· Describe how the process ensures LEAs, SFAs, and schools understand the grant is for equipment greater than $1,000.

· Describe plans for reallocating unused funds to other eligible subgrantees, including how the State’s subgrant process meets the required timeline outlined in this RFA.

· Briefly describe the plan for staffing the grant project. Response should include key personnel, identifying roles and responsibilities, Subgrantee RFA The State agency applicant must develop and submit a subgrantee RFA to competitively award the subgrant as a part of this grant application. The RFA must include the following:

· Selection criteria that meets the purpose of the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant.

· Requirement that the equipment purchased must have a value of greater than $1,000.

· Reference to all applicable Federal and State level procurement requirements (Government-wide and USDA).

· Period of performance for the grant awards to ensure that all procurement and expenditure activities are completed by September 30, 2028, for the final grant awards and closeout.

Activities/Indicators Tracker

Proposed Activities and indicators measuring success must be mapped to the Program Objective (as described in Section 1 – Program Description) in the below format (note that additional Activities/Indicators can be added as needed).

Note: Indicators are defined as any metric that you anticipate will be able to be tracked during the period of performance of the grant. Common examples include Number of Subgrant Applicants, Number of Subgrants Awarded, Number of People Trained.

Example

Application Budget Narrative Eligible applicants should use the attached Budget Narrative Template (see Appendix C). The budget narrative should give the item-by-item breakdown for each category and show the calculations used to derive the costs. The budget narrative serves two purposes: it explains how the costs were estimated, and it justifies the need for the cost. The budget and budget narrative must be in line with the proposed project description; there should be no items listed in the budget narrative that are not described in the project proposal. Proposed costs must be necessary, reasonable, and allocable to carry out the project's goals and objectives.

Both the detailed budget (SF-424A) and the narrative should include:

The amount of Federal funds requested. The funding requested must not exceed the amount specified in Appendix A - State Funding Allocation.

A narrative description of the Federal funds requested in SF-424A, including calculations detailing how these funds requested were derived. Describe costs such as:

· Personnel;

· Fringe benefits;

· Supplies;

· Other (e.g., subgrants); and

· Indirect Costs, if the budget includes indirect costs, the application package must include a copy of the State agency’s most recently approved Federal indirect cost rate agreement.

If the State plans to distribute all grant funds as subgrants to LEAs, SFAs and schools, the budget narrative may simply indicate this under the “Other” subgrants line item. The total amount should match the full sum as specified in Appendix A - State Funding Allocation with zeros for the other portions of the narrative.

Indirect Cost Rate A current Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), negotiated with a cognizant Federal agency, should be used to charge indirect costs. Indirect costs may not exceed the negotiated rate. If a NICRA is used, the percentage and base should be indicated. If the applicant does not have a current Federal negotiated indirect cost rate (including provisional rate) they may elect to charge a de minimis rate of up to 15 percent of modified total direct costs (MTDC). In this instance, the applicant must indicate they are requesting the de minimis rate. An applicant may elect not to charge indirect costs and instead use all grant funds for direct costs. If indirect costs are not charged, the phrase “none requested” should be stated in the budget narrative. For questions related to the indirect cost rate, please work with the Grant Officer as noted in Section 7 of this RFA.

Note: Each organization is assigned to a single federal agency (by the Office of Management and Budget) that acts on behalf of all federal agencies in indirect cost rate negotiations and is referred to as the “cognizant agency.”

Required Grant Application Forms The required grants.gov forms may be previewed at grants.gov/web/grants/forms/forms-repository.html. These forms are part of the grants.gov Workspace application.

· Non-Construction Grant Projects Forms: SF-424 Family

· Application and Instruction for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

· Budget Information and Instructions (SF-424A)

· Assurance-Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B)

· Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF LLL)

· Indicate on your form whether your organization intends to conduct lobbying activities. If you organization does not intend to lobby, write “Not Applicable” in boxes required to be completed.

· FNS-906 (Grant Program Accounting System and Financial Capability Questionnaire)

· Additional Required Information

· Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number. Please see below for further information

· SAM registration. Please see below for further information.

5. Application Review Information Review Criteria FNS will pre-screen all applications to ensure the applicants are eligible entities and are in compliance with all Program regulations. FNS will not approve any waivers from Program regulations for any projects submitted in response to this solicitation.

Evaluation Factors and Criteria The following selection criteria will be used to evaluate applications for this RFA. Evaluations will be based on a 100-point scale:

Subgrant Process (60 points)

· Subgrant approach is competitive and fair.

· Subgrant process contributes to the objective of the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant: Provide subgrants to LEAs, SFAs and schools to purchase equipment to serve healthier meals, improve food safety, and support the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of the School Breakfast Program (SBP).

· RFA includes all required elements, i.e. the following:

· Selection criteria that meets the purpose of the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant.

· Requirement that the equipment purchased must have a value greater than $1,000.

· Reference to all applicable Federal and State level procurement requirements (Government-wide and USDA).

· Period of performance for the grant awards to ensure that all procurement and expenditure activities are completed by September 30, 2028, for the final grant awards and closeout.

Timeline and Reallocation Plan (20 points)

· Application demonstrates the State agency will competitively subgrant to eligible LEAs/SFAs/schools concluding initial award phase by January 5, 2028. Unused subgrant funds will be returned by subgrantees by a specified date for potential allocation to other approved applications from LEAs, SFAs or schools within the State.

· Plan to reallocate funds to additional subgrantees demonstrates supporting the objective of subgrants to LEAs, SFAs and schools to purchase equipment to serve healthier meals, improve food safety, and help support the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of the School Breakfast Program (SBP).

Appropriate and Efficient Budget (20 points)

· Applications will be scored on the appropriate and efficient use of grant funds, as evidenced by the submitted Budget (SF-424A) and Budget Narrative. This includes an assessment of reasonability of outlined costs.

Total Points Available: 100 Review and Selection Process Following the initial screening process, FNS will assemble a panel group to review and determine the technical merits of each application. The panel will evaluate the proposals based on how well they address the required application components and arrange the applications from highest to lowest score. The panel members will recommend applications to consider for a grant award based on the evaluation scoring. FNS may request information from the applicant not clearly addressed in their proposal.

6. Application Submission Information Submission Date Complete grant applications must be uploaded to grants.gov by 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on May 28, 2026.

· Applications must be submitted via grants.gov. Mailed, emailed, or hand-delivered application packages will not be accepted. For further instructions, see the “Preparing for Electronic Application Submission through Grants.gov” below.

· Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

· FNS will not consider additions or revisions to applications unless they are submitted via grants.gov by the deadline. No additions or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

· If multiple application packages are submitted through grants.gov by the same applicant in response to this solicitation, FNS will accept the latest application package successfully submitted. All other packages submitted by the applicant will be removed from this competition.

· Those applicants who fail to submit any required documents or forms will be deemed NONRESPONSIVE and therefore will be INELIGIBLE to participate in the competition and removed from further consideration.

FNS strongly encourages applicants to begin the registration process at least four weeks before the due date and to submit applications to grants.gov at least one week before the deadline to allow time to troubleshoot any issues should they arise. Please note that upon submission, grants.gov may send multiple confirmation notices. Applicants should ensure receipt of confirmation that the application was accepted.

FNS will not accept applications outside of grants.gov. Applicants experiencing difficulty submitting applications through grants.gov should contact applicant support via the toll-free number 1-800-518-4726 and email at support@grants.gov. This service is available 24/7.

Preparing for Electronic Application Submission through Grants.gov Applicants must register with grants.gov and SAM.gov in order to submit an application to FNS via grants.gov as required.

In order to submit an application, you must:

1. Obtain a UEI number

What is a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)?

A UEI is a unique number assigned to all entities (public and private companies, individuals, institutions, or organizations) who register to do business with the federal government. For more information, visit the U.S. General Services Administration website.

Where do I go to learn more about the UEI?

The U.S. General Services Administration Unique Entity Identifier Update page contains the most up-to-date information about the UEI.

Note: Entities can register in SAM.gov and will be assigned their “SAM UEI.” For additional information on the UEI process, please visit SAM.gov.

2. Register in the System for Award Management (SAM)

· On April 4, 2022, the UEI used across the federal government changed from the DUNS number to the UEI (generated by SAM.gov).

· SAM combines federal procurement systems and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance into one system. Visit SAM.gov for additional information.

· To register, you must have your organization’s UEI, the organization’s Tax ID Number (TIN), and taxpayer name (as it appears on the last tax return). It may take up to 5 to 7 business days or more to register and/or complete the migration of permissions and/or the renewal of an entity record.

· All applicants must have current SAM status at the time of application submission and throughout the duration of a Federal Award in accordance with 2 CFR Part 25.

· FNS strongly encourages applicants to begin this process at least 3 weeks before the due date of the grant solicitation.

3. Create a Grants.gov Account

The next step in the registration process is to create an account with grants.gov. Applicants must know their organization’s Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) to complete this process. For more detailed instruction about creating a profile on grants.gov, visit grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.html.

How to Submit an Application via Grants.gov Applicants must apply online using Workspace. Workspace is a shared, online environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and edit different web forms within an application. For each funding opportunity announcement or RFA, you can create individual instances of a workspace.

For additional training resources, including video tutorials, visit grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training.html.

Applicant Support: Grants.gov provides applicants 24/7 support (except Federal holidays) via the toll-free number 1-800-518-4726 and email at support@grants.gov. If you are experiencing difficulties with your submission, it is best to contact grants.gov support and get a ticket number. The Support Center ticket number will assist the Center with tracking your issue.

For programmatic and financial-related questions regarding this specific grant opportunity, please contact the Grant Officer noted in Section 7 – Federal Awarding Agency Contacts of this RFA.

Grants.gov Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission All applications must be received by 11:59 PM EDT on May 28, 2026, as detailed in Section 4 – Submission Date. Proof of timely submission is automatically recorded by grants.gov. An electronic date/time stamp is generated within the system when the application is successfully received by grants.gov. The applicant Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) will receive an acknowledgement of receipt and a tracking number (e.g., GRANTXXXXXXXX) from grants.gov with the successful transmission of their application. Applicant AORs will also receive the official date/time stamp and a grants.gov tracking number in an email serving as proof of their timely submission.

When FNS successfully retrieves the application from grants.gov and acknowledges the download of submissions, grants.gov will provide an electronic acknowledgement of receipt of the application to the email address of the applicant with the AOR role. Again, proof of timely submission shall be the official date and time that grants.gov receives your application. Applications received by grants.gov after the established due date for the program will be considered late and will not be considered for FNS funding.

Applicants using slow internet, such as dial-up connections, should be aware that transmission could take some time before grants.gov receives your application. Again, grants.gov will provide either an error or a successfully received transmission in the form of an email sent to the applicant with the AOR role. The grants.gov Support Center reports that some applicants end the transmission because they think that nothing is occurring during the transmission process. Please be patient and give the system time to process the application.

File attachment names longer than approximately 50 characters can cause problems processing packages. Please limit file attachment names. Also, do not use any special characters (This includes periods (.) and spacing followed by a dash in the file. To separate words in naming a file, use underscore.

Intergovernmental Review This funding opportunity is not subject to the requirements of EO 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.” This Executive Order was issued with the desire to foster the intergovernmental partnership and strengthen federalism by relying on State and local processes for the coordination and review of proposed federal financial assistance and direct federal development. The Order allows each State to designate an entity to perform this function.

For purposes of this award application, please select Box C, “Program is not covered by E.O. 12372, for question number 19 on the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance.

Funding Restrictions The following funding restrictions apply to the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grants:

· A State agency may only use up to five percent of its allocation for State-level administrative costs associated with awarding grants to eligible subgrantees.

· No cost extensions are not permitted under the FY 2025 National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grant.

· State agencies must ensure the subgrant award process and funding is obligated by September 30, 2028.

· State agencies and subgrantees must follow the rules outlined in 7 CFR 210.14(a); noting the construction of buildings is prohibited.

· Pre-award costs will not be awarded for the project.

7. Federal Award Administration Information Federal Award Notice The Government is not obligated to make any award as a result of this RFA. Unless an applicant receives a signed award document with terms and conditions, any contact from a FNS Grants or Program Officer should not be considered as a notice of a grant award. No pre-award or pre-agreement costs incurred prior to the effective start date are allowed unless approved and stated on FNS’ signed award document (FNS-529). Only the recognized FNS authorized signature can bind USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service to the expenditure of funds related to an award’s approved budget.

Administrative and National Policy Requirements Confidentiality of an Application When an application results in an award, it becomes a part of the record of FNS transactions, available to the public upon specific request. Information that the Secretary determines to be of a confidential, privileged, or proprietary nature will be held in confidence to the extent permitted by law. Therefore, any information that the applicant wishes to have considered as confidential, privileged, or proprietary should be clearly marked within the application. Any application that does not result in an award will be not released to the public. An application may be withdrawn at any time prior to the final action thereon.

Safeguarding Personally Identifiable Information “Personally identifiable information” means information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, either alone or when combined with other information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual (OMB Circular A-130, Managing Information as a Strategic Resource).

Applicants submitting applications in response to this RFA must recognize that confidentiality of PII and other sensitive data is of paramount importance to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. All federal and non-federal employees (e.g., contractors, affiliates, or partners) working for or on behalf of FNS are required to acknowledge understanding of their responsibilities and accountability for using and protecting PII in accordance with applicable law, regulation, and policy [e.g., the Privacy Act of 1974; Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum, M-17-12, Preparing for and Responding to a Breach of Personally Identifiable Information; OMB Circular A-130, Managing Information as a Strategic Resource (this is a non-exhaustive list of requirements in this area)].

By submitting an application in response to this RFA, applicants are assuring that all data exchanges conducted throughout the application submission and pre-award process (and during the performance of the grant, if awarded) will be conducted in a manner consistent with applicable Federal laws, regulations, and policies. By submitting a grant application, applicants agree to take all necessary steps to protect PII, including the following: (1) ensuring that PII and sensitive data developed, obtained or otherwise associated with UDSA FNS funded grants is securely transmitted; (2) ensuring that PII is not transmitted to unauthorized users, and that PII and other sensitive data is not submitted via email; (3) data is transmitted via FNS approved file sharing services or encrypted mobile media storage devices; and (4) ensuring that PII is encrypted and password protected both in transit and at rest.

Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality of the Review Process The agency requires all panel reviewers to sign a conflict of interest and confidentiality form to prevent any actual or perceived conflicts of interest that may affect the application review and evaluation process. Names of applicants, including States and tribal governments, submitting an application will be kept confidential, except to those involved in the review process, to the extent permitted by law. In addition, the identities of the reviewers will remain confidential throughout the entire process. Therefore, the names of the reviewers will not be released to applicants.

Administrative Regulations Federal Tax Liabilities Restrictions None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to enter into a contract, memorandum of understanding, or cooperative agreement with, make a grant to, or provide a loan or loan guarantee to, any corporation that has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to an agreement with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability, where the awarding agency is aware of the unpaid tax liability, unless a Federal agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and has made a determination that this further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government.

Felony Crime Conviction Restrictions None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to enter into a contract, memorandum of understanding, or cooperative agreement with, make a grant to, or provide a loan or loan guarantee to, any corporation that was convicted of a felony criminal violation under any Federal law within the preceding 24 months, where the awarding agency is aware of the conviction, unless a Federal agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and has made a determination that this further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government.

Debarment and Suspension 2 CFR Part 180 and 2 CFR Part 417 A recipient chosen for an award shall comply with the non-procurement debarment and suspension common rule implementing Executive Orders (E.O.) 12549 and 12689, “Debarment and Suspension,” codified at 2 CFR Part 180 and 2 CFR Part 417. This common rule restricts sub-awards and contracts with certain parties that are debarred, suspended or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federal assistance programs or activities. The approved grant recipient will be required to ensure that all sub-contractors and sub-grantees are neither excluded nor disqualified under the suspension and debarment rules prior to approving a sub-grant award by checking the System for Award Management (SAM) at SAM.gov.

Universal Identifier and Central Contractor Registration 2 CFR Part 25 Requirement for System for Award Management. Unless you are exempted from this requirement under 2 CFR 25.110, you as the recipient must maintain current information in the SAM. This includes information on your immediate and highest-level owner and subsidiaries, as well as on all of your predecessors that have been awarded a Federal contract or Federal financial assistance within the last three years, if applicable, until you submit the final financial report required under this Federal award or receive the final payment, whichever is later. This requires that you review and update the information at least annually after the initial registration, and more frequently if required by changes in your information or another Federal award term.

Requirement for Unique Entity Identifier: If you are authorized to make subawards under this Federal award, you:

· Must notify potential subrecipients that no entity (see definition in paragraph C of this award term) may receive a subaward from you until the entity has provided its Unique Entity Identifier to you.

· May not make a subaward to an entity unless the entity has provided its Unique Entity Identifier to you. Subrecipients are not required to obtain an active SAM registration, but must obtain a Unique Entity Identifier.

Reporting Sub-award and Executive Compensation Information 2 CFR Part 170 The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) of 2006 (Public Law 109–282), as amended by Section 6202 of Public Law 110–252, requires primary grantees of Federal grants and cooperative agreements to report information on sub-grantee obligations and executive compensation. FFATA promotes open government by enhancing the Federal Government’s accountability for its stewardship of public resources. This is accomplished by making Government information, particularly information on Federal spending, accessible to the general public.

Primary grantees, including State agencies, are required to report actions taken on or after October 1, 2010, that obligates $30,000 or more in Federal grant funds to first- tier sub-grantees. This information must be reported in the Government-wide FFATA Sub-Award Reporting System (FSRS). In order to access FSRS a current SAM registration is required. A primary grantee and first-tier sub-grantees must also report total compensation for each of its five most-highly compensated executives. Every primary and first-tier grantee must obtain a UEI prior to being eligible to receive a grant or sub-grant award. Additional information will be provided to grant recipients upon award.

Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2009, Public Law 110-417 Section 872 of this Act requires the development and maintenance of a Federal Government information system that contains specific information on the integrity and performance of covered Federal agency contractors and grantees. The Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) is designed to address these requirements. FAPIIS contains integrity and performance information from the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System, information from SAM.gov, and suspension and debarment information from the SAM. FNS will review and consider any information about the applicant reflected in FAPIIS when making a judgment about whether an applicant is qualified to receive an award.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests The Freedom of Information ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, provides individuals with a right to access records in the possession of the Federal Government. The Government may withhold information pursuant to the nine exemptions and the three exclusions contained in the Act.

Application packages submitted in response to this grant solicitation may be subject to FOIA by requests by interested parties. In response to these requests, FNS will comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including departmental regulations.

FNS will forward a Business Submitter Notice to the requested applicant’s point-of-contact. Applicants will need to review requested materials and submit and submit any recommendations within 10 days from the date of FNS notification. FNS will redact Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

For additional information on the Freedom of Information (FOIA) process, please contact the FNS Freedom of Information Act officer at FOIA@usda.gov.

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

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

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter 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; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Privacy Policy The USDA Food and Nutrition Service does not collect any personal identifiable information without explicit consent. To view USDA’s Privacy Policy, visit: usda.gov/privacy-policy.

Code of Federal Regulations and Other Government Requirements This grant will be awarded and administered in accordance with the following regulations 2 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Subtitle A, Chapter II. Any Federal laws, regulations, or USDA directives released after this RFA is posted will be implemented as instructed.

Government-wide Regulations

· 2 CFR Part 25: “Universal Identifier and System for Award Management”

· 2 CFR Part 170: “Reporting Sub-award and Executive Compensation Information”

· 2 CFR Part 175: “Award Term for Trafficking in Persons”

· 2 CFR Part 180: “OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Non-Procurement)”

· 2 CFR Part 200: “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards”

· 2 CFR Part 400: USDA’s implementing regulation of 2 CFR Part 200 “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards”

· 2 CFR Part 415: USDA “General Program Administrative Regulations”

· 2 CFR Part 416: USDA “General Program Administrative Regulations for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments”

· 2 CFR Part 417: USDA “Non-Procurement…