FY24 Farm To School Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement Request for Applications.pdf

Information Collection: 0584-0512 Expiration date: 07/31/2025

Farm to School Technical Assistance - Cooperative Agreement

Fiscal Year 2024 Request for Applications (RFA) Catalog for Federal Domestic Assistance Number (CFDA): 10.531

Release Date: July 27, 2023

Application Due Date: October 10, 2023 11:59 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)

Anticipated Award Date: November 2023

Form RFA 01-23

Application Checklist

This Application Checklist provides applicants with a list of the required documents. 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. 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.

Information for all contracts and justification for any sole-source contracts Justification, description, and an itemized list of all consultant services.

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 10% 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 (fillable PDF in Grants.gov) SF-424A (fillable PDF in Grants.gov) SF-424B (fillable PDF in Grants.gov) SF-LLL (fillable PDF in Grants.gov) FNS-906 – Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (PDF - Upload using the “Add Attachments” button under SF-424 item #15) Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (PDF - Upload using the “Add Attachments” button under SF-424 item #15) Staff Resumes for key staff (PDF or MS Word - Upload using the “Add Attachments” button under SF-424 item #15)

No more than three (3) letters of commitment, not to exceed one page in length, from key partners participating in the grant project (Upload using the “Add Attachments” button under SF-424 item #15)

Table of Contents

1. Program Description and Objectives

1.1 Background

1.2 Legislative Authority

1.3 Purpose

1.4 Grant Tracks & Objectives

1.5 Key Definitions

1.6 Evaluation (Supporting Community Engagement and Supporting Producer Engagement Tracks)

2. Federal Award Information

2.1 Award Amounts and Period of Performance

2.2 Allowable Costs

2.3 Unallowable Costs

2.4 Match Requirements and Cost Sharing

3. Eligibility Information

3.1 General Eligibility Information

3.2 Ineligible Applicants

3.3 Additional Parameters

3.4 Pre-Award Screening Requirements

3.5 Acknowledgement of USDA Support

4. Application and Submission Information

4.1 Application Format

4.2 Application Content: Project Narrative

4.3 Application Content: Budget and Budget Narrative

4.4 Special Instructions

4.4.5 Grants.gov Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission

4.4.6 Intergovernmental Review ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

4.4.7 Funding Restrictions

5. Application Review Information

5.1 Initial Screening

5.2 Panel Review

5.2.1 Scoring – Supporting Community Engagement and Supporting Producer Engagement tracks

5.3 Review and Selection Process

5.4 Determination of Award Amounts

6. Federal Award Administration Information

6.1 Federal Award Notice

6.1 Non-Selected Applicants

6.2 Administrative and National Policy Requirements

6.3 Reporting

7. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts

8. Other Information

Appendix A: RFA Budget Narrative Template and Checklist

Appendix B: Grant Program Accounting System and Financial Capacity Questionnaire

Appendix C: Progress Report Purpose

Organization Information

Financial Stability and Quality of Management Systems

Audit Reports and Findings

Applicant Certification

Executive Summary The purpose of the Farm to School Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement described in this request for applications (RFA) is to support nonprofit entities and Indian Tribal Organizations to implement national- and/or regional-level farm to school activities. Awardees under this cooperative agreement will undertake projects supporting USDA’s priorities of Food System Transformation, Improving Child Health through Nutritious School Meals, and Indigenous Food Sovereignty. There are three funding tracks available, corresponding with each USDA priority.

Applicants to the Supporting Community Engagement track (aligned with USDA’s priority of Improving Child Health through Nutritious School Meals) will propose projects that expand farm to school institutes. The Supporting Producer Engagement track aligns with USDA’s Food Systems Transformation priority and will fund projects that strengthen producer engagement with the Child Nutrition Programs market. Finally, the Supporting Tribal Engagement track will fund an entity to conduct Tribal dialogues with the purpose of supporting FNS’s farm to school grantmaking and technical assistance for Tribal entities, in alignment with USDA’s Indigenous Food Sovereignty priority. Available funding ranges from $500,000 to $1 million depending on the applicant’s choice of track. Eligible applicants are national and/or regional level nonprofit entities and Indian Tribal Organizations with a history of meaningful engagement with the target audience for this cooperative agreement. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov by 11:59 PM ET on October 10, 2023,

1. Program Description and Objectives

1.1 Background

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers the nutrition assistance programs of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The mission of FNS is to increase food security and reduce hunger in partnership with cooperating organizations by providing children and low-income people access to food, a healthy diet, and nutrition education in a manner that supports American agriculture and inspires public confidence.

Among these nutrition assistance programs are the Child Nutrition Programs (CNP), including the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the Summer Food Service Program, and others. Administered by State agencies, the CNPs help fight hunger and obesity by reimbursing organizations such as schools, childcare centers, and after-school programs for providing nutritionally balanced meals to children at low or no cost.

This Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement solicitation supports FNS’s Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program authorized under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA) (42 U.S.C. 1769(g)).

1.2 Legislative Authority

Section 18 of the NSLA (42 U.S.C. 1769(g) as amended through P.L. 117-328) established the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program (the Farm to School Program). The purpose of the programs is to assist eligible schools, State and local agencies, Indian tribal organizations, agricultural producers and groups of agricultural producers, and nonprofit entities through grants and technical assistance to implement farm to school programs to improve access to local through grants and technical assistance. In fiscal year (FY) 2023, the Farm to School Program received $19 million for this purpose. Of these funds, FNS will provide up to $3 million through this RFA to fulfill the Farm to School Program mandate in NSLA to provide technical assistance and information to assist eligible schools, State and local agencies, Indian tribal organizations, and non-profit entities (42 U.S.C. 1769(g)(7)).

1.3 Purpose

The Farm to School Program has successfully used cooperative agreements as a strategy to expand farm to school technical assistance and farm to school Institutes. This RFA solicits proposals to address priority areas of technical assistance and to meet the Congressional directive with the anticipation of issuing at least four awards. See offered grant tracks and their objectives in Section 1.4.

The Farm to School Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement RFA is comprised of three tracks, outlined in section 1.4. The three tracks will support sustainable expansion of farm to school activity and contribute to the accomplishment of three USDA priorities: Food System Transformation, Improving Child Health Through Nutritious School Meals, and Indigenous Food Sovereignty.

Food System Transformation: In 2022, Secretary Vilsack announced a framework to transform the food system to benefit consumers, producers, and rural communities by providing more options, increasing access, and creating new, more, and better markets for small and mid-size https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fns.usda.gov%2Fnsla-amended-pl-117-328&data=05%7C01%7C%7C9bb7b3e40c7f4b3393d608db7e3c5d63%7Ced5b36e701ee4ebc867ee03cfa0d4697%7C0%7C0%7C638242569956465043%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Hg%2FlG2rDZubgeFLNyfUhfpdIB%2Ftd1doK7AVo8onPD2w%3D&reserved=0 https://www.usda.gov/priorities https://www.usda.gov/priorities https://www.usda.gov/priorities producers. Farm to school plays an important role in building strong and resilient local food systems. In the face of supply chain disruptions spurred by the pandemic, child nutrition and food industry stakeholders reported that States and school districts with strong farm to school programs were more able to adapt and respond to challenges than those without pre-existing relationships and strategies that included local producers and suppliers in their food supply chain. As anchor institutions in the communities they serve, schools can forge the path for strengthening local food systems and improving the resiliency of agricultural supply chains. The Supporting Producer Engagement track supports the Food System Transformation priority (see Section 1.4 for more information about each grant track).

Improving Child Health Through Nutritious School Meals: Research shows that school meals are the healthiest meals in a day for most kids, but there’s still work to be done to best meet children’s nutritional needs. USDA has expanded efforts to give kids the best chance at a healthy future, including supporting schools to use more local foods in their meals. The Supporting Community Engagement track supports the Improving Child Health Through Nutritious School Meals priority (see Section 1.4 for more information about each grant track).

Indigenous Food Sovereignty: Indigenous Food Sovereignty is the ability for Tribal Nations to nourish and provide for their communities. Launched in 2021, the USDA Indigenous Food Sovereignty Initiative promotes traditional foodways, Indian Country food and agriculture markets, and Indigenous health through foods tailored to American Indian/Alaska Native dietary needs. Farm to school can play an important role in this work by providing resources and technical assistance, connecting children and youth to their traditional foodways, and facilitating connections between Indigenous food producers and the CNP operators in their communities. The Supporting Tribal Engagement track supports the Indigenous Food Sovereignty priority (see Section 1.4 for more information about each grant track).

Eligible applicants include nonprofit entities and Indian Tribal Organizations. In addition to general eligibility requirements, applicants must also meet the appropriate requirements for their chosen grant track, including a history of meaningful engagement with the primary audience of the track. Please see Section 3, Eligibility Information, for complete eligibility information.

Additionally, please note that FNS will accept applications from the same entity to multiple different tracks, but the applicant must satisfy the eligibility criteria for each track.

1.4 Grant Tracks & Objectives

Cooperative agreements will be made available on a competitive basis, subject to availability of Federal funds, using three tracks: Supporting Community Engagement, Supporting Tribal Engagement, and Supporting Producer Engagement. Applicant eligibility varies by track; for further clarification see Section 3.0. The tracks are independently awarded, but applicants may submit to more than one grant track, if eligible. Applicants should carefully read the entire RFA before applying to determine which track(s) is best for their situation. For more information about applying to multiple grant tracks, please see Section 4.1 “Applying to More than One Grant Track” and Section 4.4.4 “How to Submit an Application via Grants.gov.”

There are different objectives for each grant track listed below. Proposed project activities must clearly align with the objectives of the track. Please note that for each objective, the applicant must include one or more activities and indicators that align with the objective, including all required activities and indicators. The period of performance for this cooperative agreement is 36 months. No other period of performance will be considered. Proposed activities should start no earlier than November 1, 2023 and conclude no later than September 30, 2026.

Supporting Community Engagement - This track intends to fund approximately two projects of up to $500,000 each to develop or expand community/sector, or topic-based farm to school institutes. This track will support projects that develop and expand Farm to School Institutes either in geographic regions or among specific audiences or sectors (e.g., State and local agencies, agricultural producers, the childcare sector, summer learning organizations, and eligible schools). The award recipient(s) under this track is expected to host farm to school institutes in frequency and volume commensurate with the funding amount requested.

A farm to school institute disseminates farm to school information while providing coaching and technical assistance to implementing teams in organizations operating and/or associated with child nutrition programs. Institute participants should progress as a cohort through a training curriculum that facilitates the initiation and/or expansion of farm to school activities, including both local procurement and agricultural education components. The award recipient(s) in this track must host participants for an initial training session, then maintain regular (at least quarterly) communication with each cohort for at least one year, monitoring progress towards the implementation of the cohort’s farm to school activities and providing coaching and technical assistance on both regular (at least quarterly) and as-needed bases. All proposed activities must satisfy the objectives below (Support Community Engagement Track).

Please note that applicants to the Supporting Producer Engagement track are required to include a program evaluation component in their proposal. For complete information about the evaluation requirements, please see Section 1.6.

Supporting Tribal Engagement - This track is intended to fund one project of up to $500,000 to develop and deploy a strategy for the Farm to School Program to gather input on how USDA’s farm to school work can adapt to better support Tribal food sovereignty efforts. The awardee should propose a reach that includes a diverse population of Tribes and Tribal-serving stakeholders. This engagement will help USDA understand how to provide more culturally relevant farm to school technical assistance and serve as a model for future dialogues with other historically underserved populations. Applicants must meet all of the following objectives for this Track:

Objectives (Supporting Community Engagement Track)

1. Recruit and select community, sector, or topic-based institute cohorts.

2. Create and disseminate information on farm to school program development.

3. Provide practitioner education and training to the institute cohort.

4. Provide ongoing coaching and technical assistance to the institute cohort.

5. Report progress on required indicators to USDA FNS.

Objectives (Supporting Tribal Engagement Track)

1. Design a process for engaging American Indian, Alaska Native, and Tribal communities in dialogue about farm to school.

2. Implement the engagement process developed under Objective 1.

Supporting Producer Engagement - This track is intended to fund one project of up to $1 million to deploy training, technical assistance, and other support (including sub-grants) to community-based organizations already working with new, small, and/or historically underserved agricultural producers (farmers, fishers, and ranchers) to initiate or support direct training and technical assistance for producers interested in selling to the child nutrition market.

The project will focus on: 1) identifying and connecting with existing grassroots/local organizations that already work with new, small, and/or historically underserved agriculture producers to help them establish and grow their business (e.g., farm incubators, farm viability organizations, beginning farmer business technical assistance organizations); 2) providing those organizations with existing materials (e.g., Bringing the Farm to School), training, best practices, and other resources (including sub-grants) to support producer engagement with the child nutrition market; and 3) supporting those local organizations as they help producers to access the child nutrition market through activities such as ongoing coaching and training or hosting networking and training opportunities between producers and CNP operators.

Please note that applicants to the Supporting Producer Engagement track are required to include a program evaluation component in their proposal. For complete information about the evaluation requirements, please see Section 1.6.

Objectives (Supporting Producer Engagement Track)

1. Identify and provide training to established grassroots/local producer-supporting organizations on how to connect with the child nutrition market using existing farm to school producer resources.

2. Provide sub-grants and resources to trained grassroots/local organizations to implement producer trainings and provide technical assistance to small, new, and/or historically underserved producers (farmers, fishers, and ranchers).

3. Provide ongoing technical assistance to those grassroots/local organizations as they provide continuous trainings and support to those small, new, and/or historically underserved producers.

4. Report progress on required indicators to USDA FNS.

For more information on the application formatting and project narrative content for each grant track, see Section 4. Page 14.

1.5 Key Definitions

Indian Tribal Organization (ITO) includes:

• An Indian tribe, band or group recognized by the Department of the Interior.

• An intertribal council or group which is an authorized representative of Indian tribes, bands or groups recognized by the Department of Interior.

• Tribal entities recognized as charitable under Section 7871 of the Internal Revenue Code

(http://www.irs.gov/government-entities/indian-tribal-governments/irc-section-7871-treatment-of-indian-tribes-as-states).

3. Summarize feedback and make recommendations to FNS on methods for supporting food sovereignty through farm to school.

4. Report progress on required indicators to USDA FNS.

https://www.farmtoschool.org/our-work/bringingf2s http://www.irs.gov/government-entities/indian-tribal-governments/irc-section-7871-treatment-of-indian-tribes-as-states http://www.irs.gov/government-entities/indian-tribal-governments/irc-section-7871-treatment-of-indian-tribes-as-states

Regional capacity – Working with at least three adjacent states (interstate) or territories within one USDA-FNS region. USDA acknowledges that there may be other definitions used to define “regional” scope. For the purposes of this RFA, “regional” capacity is defined as working within at least three adjacent States or territories within one USDA-FNS region.

Practitioner(s) – For the purposes of this RFA, “practitioner” refers to entities or organizations that operate CNPs or work with schools or institutions operating CNPs to implement farm to school activities.

Historically Underserved Producers – Within the Farm Bill legislation and in USDA policy, historically underserved producers have been subject to discrimination in Federal policies and programs. As defined by USDA, “historically underserved” producers include farmers, fishers, and ranchers who are just beginning, socially disadvantaged, a veteran, or have limited resources.

New Producers – Farmers, fishers or ranchers that have been in operation for 10 consecutive years or fewer.

Small Producers – Farmers, fishers, or ranchers with operation gross cash income under $250,000.

1.6 Evaluation (Supporting Community Engagement and Supporting Producer Engagement Tracks)

In addition to the objectives listed above, applicants to the Supporting Community Engagement and Supporting Producer Engagement tracks must propose a program evaluation component that will assess the efficacy and impact of core activities undertaken under the cooperative agreement, including any materials, training, or coaching developed or provided. The applicant may design and implement an evaluation plan of the applicant’s choosing. The proposal must describe how the project will measure success and evaluate the impact of the work. Additionally, project reach metrics like number of farm to school teams or producers trained, the number of individuals that have benefited from any trainings developed, and impact metrics like pre- and post-intervention reports of pounds or dollars of local food sold/bought for CNP meals from producers participating in the organization’s programming, etc. will be reported annually.

Supporting Community Engagement and Supporting Producer Engagement track proposals should aim to increase local food procurement among CNP operators. In the proposal narrative, applicants are expected to describe, in quantitative terms where possible, the expected impact their project will have on local procurement and explain how they will measure changes in local procurement. Examples of acceptable baseline and outcome data include, but are not limited to, the Farm to School Census, practitioner surveys, and/or program evaluations.

For the purposes of this RFA, there are no restrictions on the evaluation model the applicant may use; however, evaluation activities funded by the Farm to School Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement must align with the activities proposed in the applicant’s application for funding under this RFA.

https://www.fns.usda.gov/fns-regional-offices

2. Federal Award Information

2.1 Award Amounts and Period of Performance

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

Supporting Community Engagement Track:

• Total amount of funding expected to award: $1,000,000

• Anticipated number of awards: 2

• Maximum award amount (award ceiling): $500,000

• Anticipated award announcement date: November 2023

• Anticipated period of performance (start and end date of the award): November 2023 –

September 2026

• Anticipated funding of individual awards: $500,000

• Application due date: October 10, 2023

Supporting Tribal Engagement Track:

• Total amount of funding expected to award: $500,000

• Anticipated number of awards: 1

• Maximum award amount (award ceiling): $500,000

• Anticipated award announcement date: November 2023

• Anticipated period of performance (start and end date of the award): November 2023 –

September 2026

• Anticipated funding of individual awards: $500,000

Supporting Producer Engagement Track:

• Total amount of funding expected to award: $1,000,000

• Anticipated number of awards: 1

• Maximum award amount (award ceiling): $1,000,000

• Anticipated award announcement date: October 2023

• Anticipated period of performance (start and end date of the award): November 2023 –

September 2026

• Anticipated funding of individual awards: $1,000,000

Please note:

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

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

2.2 Allowable Costs

Equipment and Supplies: Expenditures for both equipment (i.e., items of personal property having a useful life of more than one year and a cost of $5,000 or more such as walk-in freezers, coolers, processing equipment, hoop houses, and ovens) and supplies (such as knives, cutting boards, gardening or farming supplies, and food processors) are allowable expenses with prior approval by FNS. While these expenditures are allowable, FNS reserves the right to approve/disapprove these expenditures based upon the needs of the Agency and the proposed project. Salad bars are also an allowable expense.

Equipment and supplies purchased using Farm to School Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement funds must be used during the grant period for the sole purpose of accomplishing the stated project objective. If purchased equipment or supplies are not fully dedicated to the grant project objective, including beyond the cooperative agreement period end date, the applicant must determine what percentage of the good’s time or space will be dedicated to project activities. This percentage must then be applied to the value of the good to determine the amount of Federal funds that can be used to purchase the good.

Food costs: All proposed food costs must receive prior approval from FNS. Please include a justification in your budget narrative for any proposed food costs. For example, applicants may propose to use cooperative agreement funds to provide lunch at events such as conferences or trainings where a related educational activity is provided during the lunch, or in circumstances where there are no local food options available within a reasonable distance of the venue and/or at such a remove from the venue that dismissing for lunch would cause a disruption to event activities.

For a listing of allowable costs, please visit 2 CFR 200.405.

2.3 Unallowable Costs

Entertainment: Costs of entertainment, including amusement, diversion, and social activities and any associated costs are unallowable (such as mascot costumes, promotional items, etc.) unless there is a programmatic purpose and prior approval is granted by FNS.

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.

2.4 Match Requirements and Cost Sharing

For this RFA, there is no matching component requirement . If the applicant chooses to include a match, they can show evidence of matching support in the form of cash or in-kind contributions, including facility use fees, equipment, or services provided by State and local governments, nonprofit organizations, and private sources as defined in The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.).

In-kind contributions are generally defined as the value of goods or services provided by a third-party for the benefit of the grant program, where no funds transferred hands. Applicants may not use Federal funds of any kind, including Federal food service funds, as a match for this grant program. The host agency contribution for AmeriCorps service members, including FoodCorps service members, is unallowable as a match because both AmeriCorps and FoodCorps are federally funded programs. The match contributions reflected in the submitted grant proposal must be documented, including the basis for the value determination, as well as be reasonable, allocable, and allowable under the criteria for this grant award.

Matching funds may be in the form of allowable direct or indirect costs. For example, the value of buildings and/or property are unallowable costs for the Farm to School Grant, and therefore https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E unallowable as a source of matching funds. Additional information about allowable and unallowable costs is available in Appendix B. The basis for determining the value of cash and in-kind contributions must be in accordance with 2 CFR 200.306 (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2014-title2-vol1/xml/CFR-2014-title2-vol1-sec200- 306.xml).

3. Eligibility Information

3.1 General Eligibility Information

To apply to this Farm to School Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement, the recipient must be either a 501(c)3 non-profit organization or Indian Tribal Organization (ITO) meeting the criteria listed below.

• Must be a regional or national organization. A regional organization includes one working with at least three adjacent States (interstate) or territories within one USDA-FNS region.

A national organization provides services and conducts activities nationwide. Farm to school experience is preferred.

• Must have a history of meaningful engagement with the intended audience of the track (for example, multiple years of collaboration on a variety of topics and existing relationships with stakeholders in the required audience). The applicant’s proposal and supporting documentation should build a case that demonstrates a history of meaningful engagement; applicants who cannot demonstrate sufficient experience working with the appropriate audience will not be considered.

• Supporting Tribal Engagement Track - Must be led/staffed by Tribal members and have partnerships and strong history with indigenous food producers and CNP operators.

• Supporting Producer Engagement Track - Demonstrated experience supporting organizations that working with new, small, and/or historically underserved farmers, ranchers, and/or fishers.

Applicants that are non-profits must provide a copy of their 501(c)3 Determination Letter to indicate nonprofit status. Applicants must clearly describe how their organization satisfies the criteria for an “eligible entity” as stated above.

3.2 Ineligible Applicants

• Institutions, including schools, school districts, and childcare facilities.

• International (non-U.S. or non-U.S. territory based) entities.

• State agencies.

• Local agencies.

• For-profit organizations.

• Institutions of Higher Education as defined at 20 U.S.C. 1001.

• Hospitals as defined at 2 CFR 200.1 “Hospital.”

Other Eligibility Criteria

No other eligibility criteria.

3.3 Additional Parameters

The following additional conditions apply:

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2014-title2-vol1/xml/CFR-2014-title2-vol1-sec200-306.xml http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2014-title2-vol1/xml/CFR-2014-title2-vol1-sec200-306.xml https://www.fns.usda.gov/fns-regional-offices

• Farm to School Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement proposals must address all objectives for their proposed track discussed in Section 1.4.

• Farm to School Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement awardees will have 36-month performance periods. All funds must be obligated, and all program activities under the grant (other than activities relating to the closeout of the grant), must be completed by the end of the award period.

• Applicants may apply for more than one grant track within this cooperative agreement if eligible. See Section 4.1, page 14 for more information.

• While a group of eligible organizations may collaborate on a single project, the lead applicant must individually meet all eligibility criteria in order to apply for this Cooperative Agreement.

3.4 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, and EPLS

• FAPIIS, the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System that has been established to track contractor misconduct and performance

• FNS Risk Assessment Questionnaire o 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, 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.

3.5 Acknowledgement of USDA Support

As outlined in 2 CFR 415.2, grant recipients shall include acknowledgement of USDA Food and Nutrition Service support on any publications written or published with grant support and, if feasible, on any publication reporting the results of, or describing, a grant-supported activity.

Recipients shall include acknowledgement of USDA Food and Nutrition Service support on any audiovisual which is produced with grant support, and which has a direct production cost of over $5,000.

• When acknowledging USDA support, use the following language: "This material is based upon work that is supported by the Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.” Grantees should follow the USDA Visual Standards Guide when using the USDA logo.

• 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.

https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/visual-standards-guide-january-2013.pdf

4. Application and Submission Information

4.1 Application Format

Applicants may request a paper copy of this solicitation and required forms by contacting the FNS Grants Officer at:

Jean Bingham Grants and Fiscal Policy Division

U.S. Department of Agriculture, FNS Email: jean.bingham@usda.gov

FNS strongly encourages eligible applicants interested in applying to this program to adhere to the following applicant format. 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 and in Times New Roman font. The project description with relevant information should be captured on no more than 15 pages, not including the cover sheet, table of content, resume(s), letter(s) of commitment, budget narrative, appendices, and required forms.

All pages, excluding form pages, must be numbered.

Special Instructions:

• 1-page maximum length for each resume of key staff or, if a key position has not been filled, a job description which includes desired knowledge, skills, and education.

• Late application submissions 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.

• Letters of commitment must be submitted with the application through Grants.gov. Letters submitted via email will not be considered.

• Applications submitted without the required supporting documents, forms, or certifications will not be considered.

• Applications missing a written proposal (I.e., the project narrative) or budget narrative will not be considered and will be deemed nonresponsive.

• 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.

Letters of commitment are required to confirm the extent and reach of the proposal, verify participation from key partners, and serve as evidence of the applicant’s capacity to complete proposed activities. Letters of commitment should be written in size 12 font, Times New Roman using standardized letter formatting and are not to exceed one page. Letters may be addressed to “Gregory Walton.” Information provided beyond the page limit will not be considered. These documents must be attached to the Grants.gov application package using the “Add attachments” button under SF-424 item #15 on page 2. Applications that do not follow guidelines may be subject to a reduced score during review.

Cover Sheet The cover sheet 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 mailto:jean.bingham@usda.gov

• Grant program title (Farm to School Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement) and grant track title(s) (e.g., Supporting Tribal Engagement)

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

Application Project Summary The application should clearly summarize the proposed project activities and anticipated outcomes that would result if the proposal were to be funded. Provide one paragraph of approximately 150-200 words. If awarded, this summary may be used by FNS in public-facing announcement and promotional materials. This does not count towards the page limit and will not be evaluated—do not include important information here that is omitted from elsewhere in the proposal.

Applying to More Than One Grant Track The applicant is allowed to apply to more than one grant track if they meet the eligibility criteria for each track.

• The applicant must prepare separate applications within grants.gov for each grant track they are applying for.

• The organization may submit the same resumes and letters of commitment for each submitted application (I.e., attach the same document for more than one track) but cover sheets, budgets, and project narratives must be differentiated. Indicate clearly on the cover sheet the track to which the coversheet corresponds.

• Please ensure that each letter of commitment clearly describes which project it supports.

• If a key partner provides a letter of commitment supporting more than one project, the content of the letter must clearly state the support for the specific projects.

FNS will not attempt to determine which attachments should belong with which application if they are not clearly labeled. FNS strongly encourages applicants applying to multiple grant tracks to make every effort to clearly differentiate their documentation between tracks. For example, applicants could save their attachments with the track name in the filename so that the association between the attachment and the grant track is unmistakable. As an additional example, applicants may include a header in each document that indicates the full name of the chosen grant track.

4.2 Application Content: Project Narrative

The project narrative should be comprehensive and describe the full picture of the project and its outcomes. The following sections explain what must be included within the project narrative for each track.

4.2.1 Supporting Community Engagement

The project narrative for a Supporting Community Engagement application must address all the elements in this section. The applicant may divide the narrative into sections, but the overall narrative must provide all the information requested below within the page limit and formatting requirements.

Organizational Experience Describe the organization’s experience with creating and/or disseminating resources on farm to school program development, providing practitioner education and training, and providing ongoing school year coaching and technical assistance. The narrative must explicitly state the number of years and depth of experience the applicant has working across the farm to school supply chain to institutionalize farm to school within CNP operators’ systems, structures, and operations. Also explain, if any, specific experience with Farm to School Institutes.

Target Audience Discuss and describe the target audience for the proposed project. Clearly explain the choice of participating communities and the anticipated impact to those communities. How proposed participants will be consulted and represented in the project design, development, and implementation must be addressed.

Project Plan and Activities Describe the design, deliverables, and outcomes of the proposed project and how the proposed activities will develop and expand Farm to School Institutes either in geographic regions or among specific audiences or sectors (e.g., State and local agencies, agricultural producers, the childcare sector, summer learning organizations, and eligible schools). Describe how the proposed project will increase local procurement among program operators.

Include a comprehensive description of the proposed education and training approach, including formats and materials used to deliver proposed training to at least ten teams in the intended target audience. Where possible, specify such factors as the frequency, scope, and intensity of any proposed coaching and/or technical assistance sessions within the operational period. Note whether the project will use existing materials or if resources will be developed as part of the proposed project. If new materials are to be developed, the application must include a detailed description of the intended content of materials and resources and describe the gap in information or resources that these new materials will fill.

Timeline Include a timeline of the proposed activities with start and end dates. Describe from start to finish all the activities and when they will happen within the proposed period of performance. Activities should begin no earlier than November 1, 2023.

Staffing, Partnerships, and Management Approach The proposal must have a clear description of the management approach (staffing, procurement of contractors [if applicable], quality assurance planning, tracking timeline, monitoring progress) that will be used for the project. Describe the organization’s plan for coordination, data sharing, and reporting among members of the project team and stakeholder groups. Provide a clear description of staff or partners’ relevant experience as it relates to the proposed project. Include resumes of key staff to support statements made in the narrative.

Identify key partner or collaborator organizations involved with the project. Describe how the project team includes leadership and members from the community served by the project.

Describe how the project team reflects the community served and ensures that the values, cultures, and needs of the community are represented. Include letters of commitment to support statements made in the narrative. If key partners will be identified as a component of project activities (for example, specific school districts will be chosen to participate in an institute cohort through an application process), explain how partners will be identified and recruited for project efforts.

Tracking As a component of the narrative, applicants must submit a project work plan table. For each objective, list the activities and related indicator(s) that will measure progress or impact.

Applicants are encouraged to copy and paste the table below into their application and may add or remove as many rows as necessary to complete the table. Include in the table all activities mentioned in the Project Narrative and ensure that the information in the table matches the information provided in the narrative. Identify the indicator(s) that will be used for each activity.

The applicant can include as many indicators and activities as needed to fully describe the project; however, the indicators listed within the table below are the minimum required indicators.

All required indicators must be included.

Project Work Plan Table Please ensure that content in this table aligns with the Project Work Plan Narrative.

Objective #1 Recruit and select community, sector, or topic-based institute cohorts.

Activity Indicator(s)

Objective #2 Create and disseminate information on farm to school program development.

Objective #3 Provide practitioner education and training to the institute cohort.

Objective #4 Provide ongoing coaching and technical assistance to the institute cohort.

Objective #5 Report progress on required indicators to USDA FNS.

Activity Collect data on all required indicators.

Indicator(s) Total cost and/or pounds of local food procured by participating practitioners.

Indicator(s) Number of schools/institutions/communities impacted.

Indicator(s) Number of people/teams trained.

Indicator(s) Number of trainings implemented.

Sustainability Proposal should describe how the project will continue beyond the period of performance (without additional USDA Farm to School Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement funds). Indicate which project components will require continued funding after the end of the grant and identify potential sources of such funding (e.g., other grants, in-kind donations, volunteers, integration into organization’s long-term budget etc.). Discuss partners’ and staff’s roles in continuing farm to school efforts past the grant period.

Evaluation Describe how the project’s reach and overall impact will be evaluated. For the overall impact of the project, indicate how the effectiveness of materials, training, or coaching developed or provided will be determined. Emphasize any outcome measures in addition to the required indicators, if any, that will be used to evaluate whether activities funded by the grant result in a measurable impact, such as an increase in farm to school activities or an increase in the amount of local food procured for program meals (pounds or dollars). Please note that awardees will be also required to report data indicating progress towards completing their proposed activities. See Section 6.4.2 for more progress reporting requirements.

Budget The application must include a budget narrative, which is not subject to the page limit. Please see Section 4.3 for a complete description of the required budget components.

4.2.2 Supporting Tribal Engagement

The project narrative for the Supporting Tribal Engagement track must address all the elements in this section. The applicant may divide the narrative into sections, but the overall narrative must provide all the information requested below within the page limit and formatting requirements.

Organizational Experience Describe the organization’s experience with designing processes for engaging Tribal communities, implementing, and hosting dialogues with Tribal communities, and proposing recommendations to others based on analysis of the dialogues. Explain how the organization has worked with multiple Tribes and to what extent the organization is Native led. Include any experience coordinating with Tribes to facilitate farm to school activities and/or Federal programs, especially FNS programs CNP; Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR).

Target Audience Discuss and describe the target audience for the proposed project. Clearly state the demographics of the communities that will be worked with to obtain feedback. Describe how representatives of the target audience will be involved in developing the consultation process. The applicant must address how proposed participants will be represented throughout the project design, development, and implementation. Note that the final audience is USDA FNS, as the awardee is expected to develop a report containing recommendations for the Farm to School Program.

Project Plan and Activities Describe the design, deliverables, and outcomes of the proposed project and how the activities will contribute to a process that will successfully engage American Indian, Alaska Native, and Tribal communities. The project plan must include the full scope of activities from the development of that process to implementation followed by what type of analysis will be used to create recommendations that fully and accurately reflect the consultation process.

Where possible, specify such factors as the frequency, scope, and intensity of any organized dialogue sessions with the Tribal communities within the operational period. Indicate whether the project will use existing materials or if resources will be developed as part of the proposed project.