FY 26 Infrastructure Grant RFA.pdf

Information Collection: 0584-0512 Expiration date: 03/31/2029

WIC General Infrastructure Grants

Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Request for Applications (RFA) Assistance Listing Number (ALN): 10.578

Release Date: June 10, 2026

Application Due Date: July 13, 2026; 11:59 p.m., eastern daylight time

(EDT)

Anticipated Award Date:

August 2026

This information is being collected to assist the Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA) in selecting projects for grant funding. This is a voluntary collection and FNA will use the information to select projects for grant funding. 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 60 hours 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 Administration, 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.

Form RFA 01-2026

Application Checklist

This application checklist provides applicants with a list of the required actions and documents that must be completed. However, FNA 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. This includes page limits, priorities outlined in Section 5 – Application Review Information, and all necessary attachments.

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

All key staff proposed to be paid by this grant.

The percentage of time the Project Director will devote to the project in full-time equivalents (FTEs).

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.

Itemized travel expenses (including type of travel), travel justification, and basis for lodging estimate.

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

Contractual and Consultant Costs:

o Identify the need for a contractor in the proposal and justify the cost in the budget narrative.

o Information for all contracts and justification for any sole-source contracts.

o Applicants that need to issue a solicitation have provided a narrative explaining the requirement and provided a reasonable estimate for contractual and consultant costs.

Indirect cost information: Provide either a copy of a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) or if no agreement exists, the applicant 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 AD-3030 – Representations Regarding Felony Conviction and Tax Delinquent Status for

Corporate Applicants (fillable PDF in Grants.gov). This document is only required if your http://www.grants.gov/ https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_4_0-V4.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424A-V1.0.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424B-V1.1.pdf https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SFLLL_2_0-V2.0.pdf organization is a corporation. The form is located in the optional tab of the grants.gov application package.

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

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

Table of Contents

1. Program Description and Objectives

Executive Summary Program Description Objectives

2. Federal Award Information Unallowable Costs Allowable Costs

3. Eligibility Information Eligible Applicants Cost Sharing or Matching Considerations Pre-Award Screening Requirements Acknowledgement of USDA Support

4. Application Content Information Content and Form of Application Submission

Special Instructions:

Cover Sheet Table of Contents Application Project Summary Project Narrative Activities/Indicators Tracker Application Budget Narrative Contractual and Consultant Costs Indirect Cost Rate Required Grant Application Forms

5. Application Review Information Review Criteria Review and Selection Process

6. Application Submission Information

Submission Date Preparing for Electronic Application Submission through Grants.gov How to Submit an Application via Grants.gov Grants.gov Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission Intergovernmental Review

7. Federal Award Administration Information Federal Award Notice Administrative and National Policy Requirements

Confidentiality of an Application Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality of the Review Process Administrative Regulations Code of Federal Regulations and Other Government Requirements

Reporting Requirements Financial Reports Performance Progress Reports (PPR)

8. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

9. Other Information

Debriefing Requests Appendices:

Appendix A: FY 2026 WIC General Infrastructure Maximum Award Amounts for Individual State Agency Applications Appendix B: FY 2026 WIC General Infrastructure Grant Application Template Appendix C: Budget Narrative Checklist Appendix D: FNS-908 Performance Progress Report (PPR) For Reference Only

1. Program Description and Objectives

Executive Summary

The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration works to nourish those in need through financially sound programs that promote health and work, as well as champion the productivity of American agriculture. FNA is pleased to announce a competitive funding opportunity for the FY 2026 Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) General Infrastructure Grants. FY 2026 WIC General Infrastructure Grants will support WIC State agencies as they continue to modernize the program and work toward U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins’ commitments for FNA nutrition programs. In FY 2026, funds are available from the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (P.L. 119-4) and the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026 (P.L. 119-37) to fund WIC General Infrastructure Grants. FNA anticipates awarding approximately $24 million in grants for projects that support WIC State program integrity, create opportunities to connect WIC to farmers’ markets, and modernize information technology systems.

Program Description

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a Federal nutrition assistance program that serves pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to five years old who meet all eligibility requirements. WIC provides healthy foods, nutrition education including breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals to health and social services to WIC participants in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, 32 Indian Tribal Organizations, and 5 U.S. Territories.

WIC General Infrastructure Grants have been made available since 1994. These awards have been made both competitively and non-competitively, based on needs in a specific year. All 88 current WIC State agencies are eligible to apply for the FY 2026 infrastructure grants. State agencies may apply individually for grant amounts ranging from $250,000 to up to $3,000,000, depending on the number of WIC participants served. The maximum amount of funding that each State agency may apply for is specified in Appendix A: FY 2026 WIC General Infrastructure Maximum Award Amounts for Individual State Agency Applications. WIC State agencies that are members of an existing WIC Management Information System (MIS) consortia may also apply for an objective 3 grant requesting an award up to $1 million. Consortia project applications must be submitted by one State agency on behalf of all members of the consortia. If awarded, the applicant for the consortia will receive the grant funds and be responsible for meeting the grant funding terms and conditions. A State agency that applies for an individual grant may also apply on behalf of or be part of one consortia application.

Objectives

FY 2026 WIC Infrastructure Grants must be used for one or more of the three objectives identified below. Proposals may contain more than one objective. Applicants must clearly identify in their proposal which of the objective(s) they have selected. As noted in Section 4, within the “Activities/Indicators Tracker,” proposed activities should be clearly aligned with the objective(s).

Note that, if awarded, grantees will be required to report on progress toward activities aligned with the required objective(s) and must use the FNS-908 Performance Progress Report. Carefully https://www.fns.usda.gov/rollins-statement-nutrition-programs https://www.fns.usda.gov/rollins-statement-nutrition-programs considering proposed activities and indicators will prepare grantees for their progress reporting requirements if awarded.

Examples of allowable activities aligned with each objective are listed below. Note that these activities are only examples. Proposed grant projects may include new activities and/or improvements to existing efforts that need additional funding.

Consortia may only apply for objective 3.

Objective #1: Promoting Program Integrity to Minimize Waste, Fraud, and Abuse State agencies will implement policy, process, and/or technology improvements in the WIC Program that ensure taxpayer dollars are used for their intended purpose and serve as many eligible women, infants, and children as possible.

Proposals may include activities such as:

• Improving methods for detection of dual participation

• Improving methods of detecting staff fraud

• Optimizing or increasing vendor or local agency oversight

• Improving WIC funds management activities including budget development and projections

Objective #2: Creating Opportunities to Connect America’s Farmers to WIC State agencies will make technological improvements necessary to allow WIC Cash Value Benefit to be redeemed at farmers markets. All activities and costs are allowable for the WIC program only. Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) activities and costs are not allowed to be paid for with WIC funds, including this funding opportunity and the WIC General Infrastructure funds.

• Implementing new eSolutions and/or maintaining existing eSolutions

• Improving or optimizing an eSolution (e.g., by adding features, testing mobile pay, gaining efficiencies through partnerships with other programs that use similar technology)

• Training staff, participants, and farmers/markets

• Developing materials (e.g., training and technical assistance materials, market signage) to support or maintain the transition to an eSolution

Objective #3: Developing and Implementing Modernized Technology State agencies will update WIC MIS and/or WIC Electronic Benefits Transfer(EBT) systems to ensure data accuracy and system compliance and/or implementing digital services that ensure that the State agency runs an efficient WIC program.

• Making necessary technological changes to implement the new WIC food packages

• Implementing the 2022 WIC Universal MIS EBT Interface (WUMEI)

• Making system changes necessary to implement WIC eligibility changes

• Developing training materials, trainings, and other resources necessary to support WIC technology users

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: Approximately $24,000,000

• Anticipated number of awards: 30

• Minimum award amount (award floor): $0

• Maximum individual State agency award amount (award ceiling): $3,000,000

• Maximum consortium award amount: $1,000,000

• Anticipated award announcement date: August 2026

• Anticipated period of performance (start and end date of the award): September 30, 2026

– September 30, 2028

• Application due date: July 13, 2026

Please note:

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

• State agencies may apply individually or as part of an existing MIS consortium. Each State agency can submit a maximum of one individual application and be included in a maximum of one consortium application.

• State agencies applying for an individual award may only apply for the maximum outlined in Appendix A: FY 2026 WIC General Infrastructure Maximum Award Amounts for Individual State Agency Applications based on the table below.

Number of

Participants Maximum Grant

Amount Count of State

Agencies <14,999 $250,000 44

15,000-99,999 $500,000 22 100,000-199,999 $1,000,000 16

>200,000 $3,000,000 6

• The maximum award amount for a WIC MIS consortium application is $1 million.

• FNA reserves the right to use this solicitation and the results of this competition to award additional grants this year and/or the subsequent fiscal year, should additional funds become available.

• Applications and all proposed activities must comply with applicable laws, regulations, and executive orders. FNA reserves the right to exclude from consideration any applications proposing activities in contradiction of these requirements.

Unallowable Costs

FMNP activities and related costs are not allowed.

Construction costs and land purchases are not allowable.

Pre-award costs for this grant are also unallowable.

MIS and/or EBT system remodels, rebuilds, or transfer/implementation of a new MIS and/or EBT system (or any phase related to these activities, including planning) are unallowable costs.

Travel for conferences is unallowable.

Food and beverages to be used as refreshments during a meeting, activity, or event are unallowable.

Translation costs for this grant are unallowable.

MIS Maintenance and Operations (M&O) costs are unallowable for this grant.

Allowable Costs

All proposed costs must be allowable, reasonable, and necessary to accomplish the activities outlined in the proposed project.

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.

The list below provides examples of activities and services in each budget category that may be considered for funding through the FY 2026 WIC General Infrastructure Grant.

Definitions of key terms used in 2 CFR part 200, and applied to this funding opportunity, are available in the eCFR.

Personnel and Fringe Benefits:

Salaries and benefits for staff directly involved in organizing, managing, or conducting activities outlined in the proposed FY 2026 WIC General Infrastructure Grant project plan. Staff may only be funded for the period of performance of the grant. Staff time must be properly cost allocated between normal WIC duties and those activities conducted for the grant.

Salaries and benefits for contractors or local agency staff should not be requested in the personnel and fringe categories.

Travel:

Travel for project purposes, including but not limited to implementation, pilot testing, and technical assistance and training of staff or vendors.

Equipment:

Equipment means tangible personal property (including information technology systems) having a useful life of more than one year and a per-unit acquisition cost that equals or exceeds the lesser of the capitalization level established by the recipient or subrecipient for financial statement purposes, or $10,000.

FNA reserves the right to approve/disapprove these expenditures based on needs as expressed by the proposed project.

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-A/subject-group-ECFR2a6a0087862fd2c/section-200.1 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/part-200

Supplies:

Supply means all tangible personal property other than those described in the equipment definition. A computing device is a supply if the acquisition cost is below the lesser of the capitalization level established by the recipient or subrecipient for financial statement purposes or $10,000, regardless of the length of its useful life. See this section’s definitions of computing devices and equipment.

Supply requests must be supported with an itemized supply list, justifications for each type and quantity of supplies, source of price estimation, and the calculations showing how the total amount requested was derived.

Contractual:

Consulting service costs are considered contractual costs. Contractual costs must be justified and supported with appropriate documentation:

• Identify the need for a contractor in the proposal.

• Clearly identify the contract type (open and competitive/sole source).

• Provide detailed justification for any sole-source contracts.

• Provide a narrative explanation for all contracts.

• Justify the cost in the budget narrative.

• Attach an official quote or executed contract.

• Identify the source of all cost estimates.

Other:

Subawards to WIC local agencies or other organizations, who will carry out allowable activities as outlined in this RFA, should be categorized as “other” in the budget narrative and SF-424A. All costs related to a proposed subaward should be explained and combined together to determine the total cost requested for the subaward.

3. Eligibility Information

Eligible Applicants

These grant funds are available to the 88 State agencies that currently administer the WIC program.

State agencies may apply individually or as part of a consortium. Each State agency can submit a maximum of one individual application and be the lead on or be included in a maximum of one consortium application. State agencies who apply on behalf of their consortia may also apply individually.

If State agencies wish to apply as a consortium, a lead State agency must be designated. The lead State agency for the grant project may be any State agency in the consortia. The lead State agency must submit the application and will be responsible for managing the grant. Only existing MIS consortia may apply for funds. Consortia may only apply for objective 3. Individual State agencies, not designated as the lead, that participate in MIS consortia may not apply for activities related to objective 3 on behalf of their consortia as part of their individual applications. It is an expectation that all State agencies in the consortium have reached consensus on the activities included in the application and are aware that the application is being submitted. If more than one application is received for the same consortium all applications submitted for that consortium will be removed from consideration.

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

IN ADDITION: 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.

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 200.206, are required to review information available through any OMB-designated repositories of governmentwide 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 FNA 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.

• FNA Risk Assessment Questionnaire (FNS-906) o Applicants must complete the Grant Program Accounting System & Financial

Capability Questionnaire that allows FNA 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 FNA imposing special conditions or additional oversight requirements that correspond to the degree of risk assessed.

Acknowledgment of USDA Support

As required in 2 CFR 415.2, the recipient must have an acknowledgment 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

FNA strongly encourages eligible applicants use the FY 2026 WIC General Infrastructure Grant Application Template (Appendix B) to prepare an application package. Filling out ALL of sections of the FY 2026 WIC General Infrastructure Grant Application Template (Appendix B) in full, fulfills all of the elements below. If the application template is not used, applicants must submit all requested information of the template and are encouraged to use a similar format.

Regardless of whether the template is used or an alternative format, the proposed project plan should be presented on 8½” 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.

Special Instructions:

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

• Late application submission will not be considered in this competition. FNA 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 all of the required elements will not be considered.

o Applications missing a written proposal or budget narrative will not be considered and deemed nonresponsive and removed from further consideration.

• FNA reserves the right to request clarification on any application submitted in response to this solicitation.

• If multiple application packages are submitted through Grants.gov by the same applicant in response to this solicitation, FNA 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 must include, at a minimum:

• Applicant’s name and mailing address

• Primary contact’s name, job title, mailing address, phone number, and email address

• Grant program title

• Name of consortium if applicable

• Objective(s) selected

Table of Contents The table of contents should include relevant sections, subsections and associated page numbers.

Application Project Summary The application project summary should be a level description of the project in 250 words or less. It should identify the objective(s) and clearly describe the proposed project activities that will be conducted with grant funds and how those activities will meet the objective(s) of this funding opportunity.

Project Narrative State agencies may set up their own format as long as responses to all items are addressed in the order listed. Applicants must provide responses to all the following questions in their project narrative in order to receive grant funding.

Provide an overall description of your proposed grant project and how it will meet one or more of the three objectives:

1. Promote Program Integrity to Minimize Waste, Fraud, and Abuse

2. Create Opportunities to Connect America’s Farmers to WIC

3. Develop and Implement Modernized Technology*

*Consortia may only apply for objective 3. Individual State agencies that participate in MIS consortia may not apply for activities related to objective 3 on behalf of their consortia as part of their individual applications.

The project description should address all of the following:

1. General information about the project, including the objective and the overall scope and description of how the State agency will meet the grant objective.

2. If the State agency is relying on a currently active waiver to complete the project, it must be noted.

3. If applying as a consortium, please list all State agencies participating in the consortium.

4. Identify the State agency staff who will manage the grant award and project, including current employees and/or potential hires. Grant projects that can be completed with existing staff and are not dependent on new hires are preferred. If new hires are necessary, please explain your hiring strategy and timeline and ensure that necessary hiring activities are included in your activities and indicator tracker. Indicate what percentage of each State agency staff person’s time will be spent managing the grant.

5. Describe the planned project management approach, initial anticipated timeline to plan and implement the grant, and expected results and/or benefits of the project.

6. If contractual costs are requested, they must be adequately supported with project plans and documentation. Briefly describe the role of the contract in achieving your proposed activities and how you selected the contractor, and if a contract or quote is already available. If a contract is already in place, you must provide a copy of the contract as an attachment. If you have a quote, but not a contract in place, you must provide a copy of the quote. If a new contract is needed, please explain your procurement strategy, and how you will select contractors in the project narrative. Explain how you calculated the estimated contractual amount.

7. Explain how the State agency will monitor project scope, track schedules/costs/resources, monitor quality assurance, submit progress reports to FNA, and ensure implementation of the plan for sustainability.

8. Include whether other funding sources will be used to supplement work on planned activities. For example, if State agencies are also utilizing Nutrition Services Administration (NSA) funds to cover personnel costs for staff working on the grant project, please describe.

If NSA or other funds are also being used to support a portion of requested activities, be specific about what costs will be charged to the WIC General Infrastructure Grant v. NSA or other sources of funds.

9. Please provide a summary timeline of grant activities. Please note that a more detailed timeline of individual project activities is required for Section 4: Activities/Indicators.

If the activities funded under this grant require FNA approval of an advance planning document (APD) in accordance with Handbook 90, available at https://www.fns.usda.gov/sso/apd/handbook-901, FNA must approve an advance planning document (APD) prior to the expenditure of these grant funds. If applicable, please include APD approval in the timeline and the activities/indicators tracker.

The project narrative should clearly identify what the applicant is proposing and how it will address a solution, the expected results and/or benefits once the solution is achieved, and how it will meet the RFA program scope and objective.

Please limit the project narrative to ten pages. This limit does not include the budget narrative, activities/indicators tracker, or supporting documentation, to include, but not limited to, contracts and the activities and indicators chart.

Activities/Indicators Tracker Applicants will be expected to submit applications that outline the activities and indicators that align to the program objective as outlined in Section 1 of the RFA.

Proposed activities and indicators measuring success must be mapped to one or more of the program objective(s) (as described in Section 1 Objectives) in the below format (note that additional activities/indicators can be added as needed).

Note: Indicators are defined as any metric you anticipate will be able to be tracked during the period of performance of the grant. Common examples include number of people attended, number of people impacted, number of conferences delivered, number of materials created, number of trainings, number of people trained.

Example Objective Objective #1: Promote Program Integrity to Minimize Waste, Fraud, and

Abuse Activity Grant-funded activities or trainings Indicator(s) Planned dates of training, number of trainings and number trained Activity Conduct compliance investigations Indicator(s) Compliance investigation completed on 5/25/27 https://www.fns.usda.gov/sso/apd/handbook-901

Application Budget Narrative The budget narrative, formatted as a table, should correspond with the proposed project narrative and application budget. A well-written budget narrative provides line-item details for all of the activities under the award and justifies the proposed project expenditures and assists reviewers during the proposal review process. If the budget narrative is not formatted as a spreadsheet (e.g.

Microsoft Excel), then it must be accompanied by a spreadsheet with all costs listed and which aligns to the categories on the SF-424.

The budget table must be formatted to fit on an 8.5 x 11-inch page, with a font no smaller than 11-point. All funding requests must be in whole dollars.

The budget narrative should contain the calculations or support statements that show how each expense was derived. Estimates, contractual statements of work and quotes are encouraged to be submitted as separate attachments to the narrative. Use the categories and columns that are relevant for your budget request. Be sure to explain how you calculated each cost and the reason each expense is necessary in the narrative/justification column.

Note: All dollar amounts should be rounded up to the nearest whole dollar and should align with information provided in the SF-424A, also in whole dollars.

For all contractual work, copies of all related quotes and contracts must be provided to support the budget narrative. If a State agency is in the planning phase of a procurement to conduct the requested activities, detailed information about how the need was identified, a procurement plan and timeline, and a detailed justification for the estimate included in the budget narrative, must be included.

If the project has components coming from other sources of funds, the applicant must clearly identify what those other sources of funds are and the portion to be covered by this grant, if awarded.

Note: if a discrepancy exists between the total funding request (submitted on SF-424, SF-424A, and budget or budget narrative) within the application package in response to this solicitation, FNA will only consider and evaluate the estimated funding request contained on the SF-424.

Contractual and Consultant Costs Proposals that include hiring a consultant or contractor must provide the following information:

• Consultant’s name and description of service,

• Type of contract,

• How the contract/consultant service will be obtained (competitive/sole-source);

• Detailed justification if sole-source,

• Itemized list of all direct costs and fees,

• The number of personnel, including position titles,

• Specialty and specialized qualifications as appropriate to the salary,

• Number of estimated hours times hourly wage for each staff member, and

• All expenses and fees directly related to the proposed services to be rendered for the project.

FNA requires applicants that are required to issue a solicitation to include a narrative explaining the requirement and a detailed description of contractor responsibilities / consultant responsibilities / anticipated tasks and a reasonable estimate of contractual and consultant costs.

If a State agency is in the planning phase of a procurement to conduct the requested activities, detailed information about how the need was identified, a procurement plan and timeline, and a detailed justification for the estimate included in the budget narrative, must be included.

Indirect Cost Rate A current Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), negotiated with a cognizant Federal agency, may be used to charge indirect costs. A copy of the NICRA must be submitted with your application. The indirect cost rate should be applied to appropriate funds as stipulated in your organization’s NICRA. Indirect costs may not exceed the negotiated rate.

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.

If indirect costs are requested, the percentage rate and the line items the rate is applied to must be explained in the budget narrative, and the calculations must be shown.

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.

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) o Application and Instruction for Federal Assistance (SF-424) o Budget Information and Instructions (SF-424A) o Assurance-Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B)

• Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL) o 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.

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

• Representations Regarding Felony Conviction and Tax Delinquent Status for Corporate

Applicants (AD-3030 fillable PDF in Grants.gov). This document is only required if your organization is a corporation. The form is located in the optional tab of the grants.gov application package.

• Additional Required Information o Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number. Please see below for further information o SAM registration. Please see below for further information.

https://www.grants.gov/forms/forms-repository/sf-424-family https://www.grants.gov/forms/forms-repository/sf-424-family

5. Application Review Information

Review Criteria

FNA will pre-screen all applications to ensure the applicants are eligible entities and are in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and executive orders. FNA reserves the right to exclude from consideration any applications proposing activities in contradiction of these requirements. FNA will not approve any waivers from program regulations for any projects submitted in response to this solicitation.

Applicants are encouraged to review the application criteria below to ensure that relevant information is included in their proposal.

A panel will score applications on project design, project management, and effective use of grant funds, as outlined in the Project Narrative, Activities/Indicators, Budget (SF-424A), and budget narrative sections of the application.

Review Criteria 1: Project Design (40 points) - The Project Design score will make up 40 points of the final score assigned to an application. Criteria that will be used to determine the Project Design score will include but are not limited to:

• The project proposal describes, in sufficient detail, the scope of the work to be done and clearly identifies how the work will advance the objective(s) of this grant.

• The project proposal includes a reasonable timeline with sufficient information in narrative form to show that the milestones and deadlines are realistic and achievable.

• The proposed activities/indicators correlate with the narrative plans to meet the grant objective(s).

• The expected results of the project are reasonable, attainable, and based on the proposed activities.

Review Criteria 2: Project Management (30 points) - The Project Management score will make up 30 points of the final score assigned to an application. Criteria that will be used to determine the Project Management score will include, but are not limited to:

• The project proposal provides a management plan that includes a detailed description of the management actions that will be taken to ensure that project activities are completed on time, within budget and scope, and with quality results.

• The applicant demonstrates readiness to successfully implement the work described in the project proposal within the period of performance. This includes identifying key staff who will manage the project or describing a plan to do so, describing the planned project management approach. Applicants must provide clear descriptions of all contractual needs.

Review Criteria 3: Budget Table and Budget Narrative (30 points) - Applications will be scored on the appropriate and efficient use of grant funds. All costs will be reviewed to ensure that they are allowable, reasonable, and necessary. All submitted budget information (including subgrant information, if applicable) must align with the narrative project plan. The budget score will make up 30 points of the final score assigned to an application. The criteria that will be used to determine the budget score will include, but are not limited to:

• The applicant provides a budget spreadsheet or table and a budget narrative reflecting justifications of costs requested and necessary to accomplish the activities included in the project proposal.

• The applicant clearly describes and shows calculations for how costs within the budget categories were derived.

• Applicants that need to issue a solicitation have provided a narrative explaining the requirement and provided a reasonable estimate for contractual and consultant costs.

• The budget and SF-424A do not have mathematical errors.

• The applicant identifies clear linkages between expenditures and specific activities/tasks.

• The applicant demonstrates that all costs are necessary, reasonable, and allocable to carry out the project’s objective.

• Contractual costs included in the budget are explained and supported as required in

Section 4 Contractual and Consultant Costs.

• Unallowable costs are not included in the project proposal or budget.

• Indirect cost rate documentation is provided, and the budget narrative clearly explains how the indirect cost rate was applied and shows the calculations of how the total indirect cost requested was derived. If the applicant does not have a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) (including provisional rate) the proposal identifies the applicant elected to charge a de minimis rate of up to 15 percent of modified total direct costs

(MTDC).

Total Points Available: 100

Review and Selection Process

Following the initial screening process, FNA will assemble a panel to review and determine the technical merits of each application. FNA may request information from the applicant not clearly addressed in their proposal. The panel will evaluate the proposals based on how well they address the required application components and array the applications from highest to lowest score. The panel members will recommend applications for consideration for a grant award based on the evaluation scoring. The selecting official reserves the right to accept the panel’s recommendation or to select an application for funding out of order to meet agency priorities or geographical representation. FNA reserves the right to use this solicitation and results of this competition to award additional grants in the next fiscal year should additional funds be made available.

6. Application Submission Information

Submission Date

Complete grant applications must be uploaded to grants.gov by 11:59 PM EDT July 13, 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” section below.

• Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

• FNA 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, FNA will accept the latest application package successfully http://www.grants.gov/ 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.

FNA strongly encourages applicants to begin the grants.gov 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.

FNA 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 FNA 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 https://sam.gov/entity-registration.

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 Data Universal Numbering System (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.

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

mailto:support@grants.gov http://www.grants.gov/ https://sam.gov/content/home https://sam.gov/content/home https://sam.gov/content/home

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 via grants.gov 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 8 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 the due date listed on the cover page, 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 acknowledgment 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 FNA successfully retrieves the application from grants.gov and acknowledges the download of submissions, grants.gov will provide an electronic acknowledgment 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 FNA 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.

https://www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant-registration https://www.grants.gov/applicants/workspace-overview.html https://www.grants.gov/applicants/applicant-training mailto:support@grants.gov

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 E.O. 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.

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 FNA 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 FNA’s signed award document (FNS-529). Only the recognized FNA authorized signature can bind the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration 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 FNA transactions, available to the public upon specific request.