New York State Regional School Food Infrastructure Grant Program 2026 Round 4
Open State & local contract opportunity Posted
- Solicitation number
- 2138997
- State
- New York
- Responses due
Opportunity facts
- Point of contact
-
- Matthew Wilson farmtoschool@agriculture.ny.gov
Updated .
About this opportunity
The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets is requesting proposals for the Regional School Food Infrastructure Grant Program 2026 Round 4 (RFP #0423), with applications due January 22, 2027 at 3:00 p.m. The program makes $10 million available for two separate $5 million awards, one per eligible region, with an informational workshop on September 25, 2026 and questions due by December 11, 2026 at 4:00 p.m.
Eligible applicants are registered not-for-profit organizations (501(c)(3)), local municipalities, school districts, and Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) located in the Finger Lakes, Southern Tier, Mohawk Valley, or Capital Region. The program requires MWBE participation goals of 30% overall (15% minority-owned, 15% women-owned enterprises) and 6% Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business participation.
Scope is capital projects for construction, renovation, alteration, rehabilitation, equipment acquisition, repair, or replacement of regional school food infrastructure facilities—aggregation centers, storage hubs, and commissary-type kitchens—that serve multiple school districts, feature New York State farm products in meal preparation, and provide workforce development training in culinary arts, food processing, safe food handling, logistics, and delivery. Grant funds support construction labor and planning salaries, contractor services, equipment with a useful life of at least five years, vehicles for produce transportation, permanent facility acquisition, and architectural and engineering services. Ineligible costs include indirect costs, rent, leases, insurance, food purchases, and supplies unrelated to the capital project. Applications cannot utilize USDA Direct Delivery or Direct Diversion products if vended services are used due to New York's prohibition on backhauling of USDA Foods.
Each applicant must provide a minimum 5% match of total project costs in cash, donated goods, and services. Total project budget is capped at $5 million per award. The contract term is five years, beginning March 1, 2027. Award announcements are expected in April 2027. Payment is reimbursement-only, with initial draws capped at 25% of the total award and a 10% retention until final report acceptance. Applications submitted through the Statewide Financial System Grants Management System must include a business plan (50 points), work plan, detailed budget, and commitment letters from partner schools and farmers.
Opportunity text
The NYS Regional School Food Infrastructure Grant Program will encourage the use of fresh New York State farm products in meal preparation for K-12 school children, reduce food insecurity, increase market opportunities for New York State producers, and strengthen the resiliency of our state's food system. Additionally, this program will encourage workforce development by providing training for culinary arts, food processing, safe food handling and storage, logistics, delivery, and other community needs. This grant program will require that facilities serve multiple school districts, support their local community, and provide workforce development opportunities. Grant funds are available for the costs of capital projects, including services, expenses, and grants for the cost of construction, renovation, alteration, rehabilitation, improvements, installation, acquisition, repair or replacement of buildings or equipment for the development of facilities to support the preparation and distribution of New York focused meals for regional school infrastructure, such as aggregation, storage hubs and/or commissary-type kitchens. The following regions will be eligible for this grant: Finger Lakes: Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming, Yates Southern Tier: Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Delaware, Schuyler, Steuben, Tioga, Tompkins Mohawk Valley: Fulton, Herkimer, Montgomery, Oneida, Otsego, Schoharie Capital Region: Albany, Columbia, Greene, Saratoga, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Warren, Washington Eligible Projects: Only capital projects necessary for construction, renovation, alteration, rehabilitation, improvements, installation, acquisition, repair or replacement of buildings, equipment, or permanent facilities for the development of facilities to support the preparation and distribution of New York-focused meals for regional school infrastructure, such as aggregation, storage hubs and/or commissary-type kitchens. For purposes of this program, a project may be a portion of a larger overall capital project. Grantees can only apply for the full amount of $5,000,000 per proposal. Business enterprises awarded an identical or substantially similar procurement contract within the past five years: Awarded in previous rounds and excluded from being awarded in Round 4: Western New York: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara North Country: Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence Long Island: Nassau, Suffolk Central New York: Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, Oswego Mid-Hudson: Duchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, Westchester New York City: Bronx, Kings, New York, Richmond, Queens Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB) SDVOB Goal: 6.00% Minority / Women Business Enterprise contracting goals (MWBE) MBE Goal: 15.00% WBE Goal: 15.00%
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| RSFI 2026 Program Specific Questions.pdf | ||
| RSFI 2026 - Business Plan.pdf | ||
| RA-Agreement.pdf | ||
| RFP0423_RSFI 2026.pdf | ||
| RSFI 2026 Appendix 2 Cover Sheet.pdf | ||
| RSFI 2026 - Appendix 1.pdf |
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