Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program

The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) allows the Secretary to provide funding opportunities to conduct and evaluate projects providing incentives to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables by eligible participants. By bringin

GusNIP is a collection of three competitive grant programs, which are the Nutrition Incentive Program, the Produce Prescription Program and the Nutrition Technical Assistance and Evaluation. The programs provide incentives to income-eligible consumers to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables and prescriptions for fresh fruits and vegetables.

Eligibility to apply for a GusNIP Nutrition Incentive Program grant is limited to governmental agencies and non-profit organizations. Institutions of higher education that are local, county, tribal, territory, or state government agencies must provide documentation in support of eligibility as a governmental agency within Field 12, Other Attachments (Part IV, B of this NOFO) of their application. Documentation must clearly identify that the university or Cooperative Extension is designated as an entity within the governmental structure, such as the Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, Department of Public Health, etc.

The GusNIP Nutrition Incentive Program is designed to support growth through three incremental program areas. These program areas nurture eligible organizations to initiate pilot projects, then increase their capacity and scale to propose projects with greater reach, scope, and complexity to standard projects and large-scale projects. These investments support the sustainability vision of the GusNIP portfolio whereby Federal funds are leveraged to advance local capacity and over time other funding sources or business plans are secured for the projects to become self-sustaining. The GusNIP Produce Prescription Program presents the opportunity to bring together stakeholders from distinct parts of the food and healthcare systems and to foster understanding of how prescribing fresh fruits and vegetables might improve the nutrition and health status of participating households. In addition to providing educational opportunities relating to nutrition to participants, the primary goals and objectives of the GusNIP Produce Prescription Program are to demonstrate and evaluate the impact of projects on: 1. the improvement of dietary health through increased consumption of fruits and vegetables; 2. the reduction of individual and household food insecurity; and 3. the reduction in healthcare use and associated costs. The Nutrition Incentive Program Training, Technical Assistance, Evaluation and Information centers (NATE) Cooperative Agreements in partnership with NIFA offer training, technical assistance, evaluation, and informational support services to potential applicants, nutrition incentive projects, produce prescription projects, and to GusNIP as a whole. NTAE Centers develop and provide services throughout the life of grant projects under the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) Nutrition Incentive Program (NI) and Produce Prescription Program (PPR), including offering incentive program training and technical assistance to applicants and grantees to the extent practicable. These services include but are not limited to USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and USDA Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) policy, incentive technology, Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), capacity building, project launch, implementation, data collection, reporting, evaluation, and close-out.

Sub-award Restriction. The applicant is expected to perform a substantive portion of the project and no more than 33 percent of Nutrition Incentive Program projects, as determined by budget expenditures, may be sub-awarded. NIFA will allow applicants to indicate in their proposal if they intend to sub-award more than 33% of the total award for FPP, FIP, FLSP, program areas. This deviation will require NIFA pre-approval. If pre-approval is desired, contact the National Program Leader that oversees this program (see Agency Contact). Projects may divide their budget allocations between partners as it fits their work plan. (For additional knowledge or expertise that is not available within the applicant organization, funds for expert consultation may be included in the "All Other Direct Costs" section of the proposed budget.) FUNDING PERIOD LIMITATION: The funding period will commence on the effective date cited in the award instrument. Any such limitation also applies to sub-awards made under awards subject to a potential funding period limitation. NUTRITION EDUCATION PROGRAMMING: Grantees that receive GusNIP funds and receive funds or collaborate with other Federal and/or USDA supported nutrition education programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) or Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), should keep in mind that these funds may not be used to provide actual cash or other financial incentives. SNAP-Ed funds can be used for policy, systems, and environmental change interventions, such as working with firms on fruit and vegetable product placement, and social marketing in addition to educational efforts at venues such as Farmers Markets, Senior Centers, or Child Care locations. Similarly, EFNEP funds can be used for educational efforts at venues serving children, young adults, and families with children with limited financial resources. SNAP POLICY: Below is a list of items and activities that may not be funded using grant funds (neither Federal, nor match funds) a. POS equipment necessary for redeeming SNAP/NAP benefits may not be purchased for retailers. Upgrades to retailers' existing equipment specifically for the purpose of enhancing the issuance and/or redemption of fruit and vegetable incentives is acceptable. b. Firm inventory or stocking fruits and vegetables for retailers. c. Issuing incentives via refund. d. Any alteration of the EBT Card/NAP paper coupons.

In accordance with statutory time limits, project periods, including no-cost extensions of time, are not to exceed five (5) years. Further details are provided in the Award document Form NIFA-2009 and the NIFA General Terms and Conditions Grants and Cooperative Agreements.

All Requests for Applications (RFAs) are published on the Agency's website and Grants.gov. Applicants must complete the Grants.gov registration process. All applicants must have the support of the State agency prior to submitting a proposal.

See the program NOFO for specific details about criteria for selecting proposals.

Within the limit of funds authorized, the NIFA awarding official will make grants to eligible applicants whose applications are judged most meritorious under the procedures set forth in this NOFO. After the award is finalized, a formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA), signed by the Authorized Departmental Officer, will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the recipient's Authorized Representative. The NoA will provide pertinent instructions and information including, at a minimum, the information described in 2 CFR 200.211 (see NIFA's Terms and Conditions).

Contact the National Program Leader (NPL) regarding dates for specific deadlines, start and end dates, and range of approval/disapproval time.

Specific details are provided in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), which are generally published annually.