Cold Chain Grants for Emergency Food Assistance

The purpose of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Cold Chain Grants for Emergency Food Assistance (CCG) is to support food assistance entities to temporarily store, effectively package, and distribute fresh and minimally processed foods th

The Cold Chain Grants for Emergency Food Assistance Program (CCG) supports cold chain equipment investments that enable food assistance entities to temporarily store, package, and distribute fresh and minimally processed foods. Awards are available to one or more entities to operate a Cold Chain Emergency Food Assistance subaward program to fund the purchase and operationalization of cold chain equipment to enable emergency food assistance outlets to efficiently and effectively provide more high quality nutrient-dense proteins such as meats, eggs, seafood, and full-fat dairy, and fresh, minimally-processed fruits and vegetables to vulnerable Americans. Supported subaward activities include investments in cold chain (freezers, refrigeration, mobile cool units, and similar) and repackaging equipment Through these subawards, more Real Foods produced by America's dedicated farmers and ranchers will be made available in support of healthier families and healthier communities.

Eligible entities are described in the program's Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) as nonprofit corporations, organizations, or institutions, including nonprofits with State or Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) status where no part of the organization's or institution's net earnings inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. This may include charitable organizations or private foundations. AMS prioritizes awards to nonprofits that demonstrate the capacity to implement and manage a competitive subaward program funding others to conduct projects that meet the goals of the program. This includes competitive application solicitation, application review, award, oversight, and reporting. Applicants must be domestically owned, and their facilities must be physically located within the 50 States of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Beneficiaries include eligible subaward entities such as emergency food assistance outlets, food banks, food pantries, faith-based organizations, and other public or private nonprofit organizations that provide nutrition assistance to people with low-income or challenging financial circumstances, by providing prepared meals or food for use at home. End beneficiaries are individuals and families seeking emergency food assistance from these outlets.

Funds must be used to support one or more recipients in the administration and management of a competitive subaward program. Subawards consist of critical refrigeration and similar equipment for food banks and food pantries to increase their capacity to provide safe, high-quality, and consistent cold storage, repackaging, and distribution of fresh meat, poultry, seafood, produce, and other largely perishable foods. Funds must be used in accordance with the requirements of the Notice of Funding Opportunity and 2 CFR 200.

Eligible entities may not use award funds for the purchase of land, facilities, construction, or rehabilitation of a building or structure; installation of concrete pads or other ground disturbing activities; for expenses related to agricultural production, including crop production, the purchase of farm equipment tools, materials, supplies and other related costs; or activities or expenditures benefitting one agriculture producer, entity, or individual and several other activities as described in the NOFO and the Program-Specific Terms and Conditions.

Criteria for selecting proposals are within guidelines established for the program as described in the NOFO. The most current NOFO is available via Grants.gov or www.ams.usda.gov/grants.

AMS outlines the application requirements and merit review process in each grant program's NOFO. Applicants are required to use the NOFO to apply for grant funds. After the application deadline has passed, AMS begins a three-step process to evaluate each application submitted to the grant program and select applications for funding. Grant agreements are established with applicants based on the results of this three-step process to ensure compliance with requirement that Federal awarding agencies maintain a fair, unbiased merit review process in selecting competitively awarded grants. The Initial Qualification Screening is Step 1. In this step, the application is reviewed to ensure that they meet the NOFO's basic requirements. Applications that meet these basic requirements move forward to Step 2. Step 2 is the evaluation by an internal or external review panel of subject matter experts. Each reviewer signs a conflict of interest and confidentiality agreement regarding any assigned applications. Peer review panels evaluate assigned applications using instructions prepared by AMS officials. Individual reviewers score applications and discuss with panel members to arrive at a consensus score. AMS then uses the scores as the basis for selecting applications that will go to administrative review. AMS will conduct Step 3, a final administrative evaluation of each review panel's top scoring applications. In addition to the scores, AMS reviews each application to ensure that potential recommended projects align with the scope of this NOFO, allowability of budget items, available funding, geographic coverage/variety and USDA priorities. AMS staff will work with top-scored applicants to negotiate any revisions as necessary and possible.

More information can be found at www.ams.usda.gov/grants.

Please see: https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/policies-procedures