Child Nutrition Discretionary Grants Limited Availability
Active
- Assistance listing
- 10.579
- Agency
-
Food and Nutrition Service
Department of Agriculture
- Grant awards
- 1,189 $793,396,616 in federal obligations
Program facts
- Assistance type
-
- Project Grant
- Treasury account
-
- 12-3539-0-1-605
- More information
Program details come from SAM.gov Assistance Listings. Updated . Grant award figures come from USAspending.gov.
About this program
The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service is distributing child nutrition grants through CFDA 10.579 to state agencies and school food authorities, with the most recent award dated May 1, 2025, and an open solicitation for $20 million in National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grants due May 28, 2026.
This program funds multiple distinct child nutrition initiatives. National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grants support competitive subgrants to local educational agencies and schools for purchasing equipment valued above $1,000 to serve healthier meals and improve food safety. Beyond equipment, the portfolio encompasses direct certification improvement projects for SNAP alignment, school breakfast program expansion grants, child nutrition studies, summer demonstration projects, training and technical assistance for child nutrition program operators, and school foodservice workforce research. Funding flows to state agencies as primary recipients, which then administer competitive subgrants to local recipients.
All 1,189 awards in the portfolio are Project Grants. The program has remained active since 2005, though award volume has declined substantially in recent years: 57 awards in 2021, 114 in 2022, 67 in 2023, 34 in 2024, and only 1 in 2025. Combined federal dollars obligated across the portfolio total $793.4 million. Award magnitudes vary widely. Equipment grants cluster in the $30 thousand to $600 thousand range, with examples including $557,637 to New York, $186,251 to Massachusetts, and $332,909 to Pennsylvania for school meals equipment (all August 2024). Training and technical assistance awards range from $209,000 to $1.7 million, such as $1.7 million to Illinois and $1.1 million each to multiple states for child nutrition program training (September 2024). Larger awards support summer demonstration projects and research: $9.1 million to Iowa for a summer demonstration project (May 2025) and $5.8 million to Alaska for a similar initiative (November 2023).
The open solicitation USDA-FNS-CN-EAG-2026 for $20 million in NSLP Equipment Assistance Grants is restricted to state government applicants and due May 28, 2026. An earlier Direct Certification Improvement Grant opportunity (USDA-FNS-CN-24-DC) from June 2024 allocated approximately $2.3 million and is now closed.
Objective and description
- Objective
National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Equipment Assistance Grants are competitively awarded subgrants to local educational agencies and schools to purchase equipment, with a value of greater than $1,000, needed to serve healthier meals, improve food s
- Description
The Child Nutrition Discretionary grants contain several distinct awards all aimed at improving the child nutrition programs. Funding is typically awarded to State Agency Program Administrators or Child Nutrition Program Operators.
Eligibility
- Applicant eligibility
Agencies participating in the school meals programs, 501c3 organizations.
- Uses of assistance
Assistance can be used for specific activities authorized by Child Nutrition legislation or regulation. In the past this has included grants to state agencies to assist local educational agencies in improving application, certification and verification, and meal counting and meal claiming procedures; grants to State agencies to improve their direct certification processes and rates; and grants to improve program access, health, and wellness of children. There may be restrictions, as required by legislation or regulation. Less than one percent of Child Nutrition funds are set aside for discretionary grants.
- Use restrictions
All costs must be reasonable, necessary and allocable.
- Length and time phasing of assistance
The period of performance of the grants vary based on project plan. Grant period of performance is generally from 1 year to 4 years. Extensions to the period of performance must be approved by FNS.
How to apply
- Criteria for selecting proposals
Applications are initially reviewed for eligibility and sufficiency, as defined in the RFA/NOFA. Those applications that meet the criteria are reviewed by a technical panel based on specific criteria outlined in the RFA/NOFA. The panel makes recommendations to the selecting official based on scoring results. The selecting official makes the final award decisions.
- Award procedure
Upon receipt of an application from an interested party a review is performed by the agency for eligibility and sufficiency of the Request For Applications (RFA) requirements. Subsequently, all acceptable applications are objectively reviewed by a technical panel according to established criteria set forth in the RFA. The panel makes award recommendations based on the scoring results. The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) selecting official then makes the final award decisions.
- Deadlines
Deadlines vary by grant opportunity as specified in the NOFO.
- Time to approval or disapproval
Selection of applicants for a grant award can take from 2 to 5 months depending on the number of applications that are received.
- Renewals
Refer to the RFA/NOFA for information regarding renewals.
- Appeals
Refer to the RFA/NOFA for information.
Grant opportunities
Show all 21
Grant awards
Latest 10 of 1,189 listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Top recipients by federal obligations
| Rank | Recipient | Federal obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Department Of Education California | $56,358,496 | 7% |
| 2 | Texas Department Of Agriculture | $55,031,544 | 7% |
| 3 | Action For Healthy Kids, Inc. | $49,723,873 | 6% |
| 4 | Chickasaw Nation | $31,089,058 | 4% |
| 5 | Michigan Department Of Health And Human Services | $30,224,435 | 4% |
| 6 | Mississippi Department Of Education | $25,431,694 | 3% |
| 7 | New York State Education Department | $24,428,655 | 3% |
| 8 | Pennsylvania Dept Of Education | $21,404,271 | 3% |
| 9 | Department Of Agriculture & Consumer Services Florida | $21,294,134 | 3% |
| 10 | Georgia Dept Of Education | $20,981,214 | 3% |
10 of 121 recipients listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Federal obligations by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Federal obligations |
|---|---|
| FY2026 | -$9,574,960 |
| FY2025 | -$969,373 |
| FY2024 | $1,554,017 |
| FY2023 | $199,679,418 |
| FY2022 | $46,852,027 |
| FY2021 | $48,788,711 |
| FY2020 | $31,626,685 |
| FY2019 | $42,475,207 |
| FY2018 | $26,293,448 |
| FY2017 | $38,829,066 |
| FY2016 | $57,333,561 |
| FY2015 | $39,826,502 |
| FY2014 | $49,034,363 |
| FY2013 | $18,156,570 |
| FY2012 | $21,526,734 |
| FY2011 | $45,034,669 |
| FY2010 | $26,835,020 |
| FY2009 | $104,688,545 |
| FY2008 | $5,731,481 |
| FY2007 | $5,425,448 |
Show all 20
Quick answers
What is Assistance Listing 10.579?
Assistance Listing 10.579 is Child Nutrition Discretionary Grants Limited Availability, a federal grant program run by Food and Nutrition Service (Department of Agriculture).
What is the CFDA number for Child Nutrition Discretionary Grants Limited Availability?
Its CFDA number is 10.579: Assistance Listing numbers were called CFDA numbers before 2018.
How much funding has Assistance Listing 10.579 awarded?
1,189 grant awards under 10.579 have obligated $793,396,616 in federal funds to 121 recipients.
Who receives the most funding from 10.579?
The recipients obligated the most under Child Nutrition Discretionary Grants Limited Availability are Department Of Education California ($56,358,496), Texas Department Of Agriculture ($55,031,544) and Action For Healthy Kids, Inc. ($49,723,873).
How much did 10.579 obligate in fiscal year 2025?
Grants under 10.579 obligated -$969,373 in federal funds in fiscal year 2025.
Are there open grant opportunities under 10.579?
No opportunity listed under 10.579 is open now. The latest, USDA-FNS-CN-EAG-FY26, was posted on April 16, 2026.
On GovTribe
See this program's full record
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