Important Dates and Resources:
- The Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) was released on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in the DC Register.
- The Request for Applications (RFA) was released on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. Please visit the District Grants Clearinghouse to access the full RFA.
- The pre-application meeting was held Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2024. Click here to access a recording of the meeting and presentation.
- Pre-application questions are due by 3 p.m. EST on Feb. 19, 2024. Send all questions to [email protected] with the subject line, RFA Question: LVPP Grant. Answers to submitted questions will be made available by Feb. 26, 2025 as an attachment to this webpage.
- The deadline for application submission is 3 p.m. EST on March 18, 2025.
- The grant period is anticipated from April 1 to Sept. 30, 2025.
Grant Background:
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is soliciting applications for the Local and Values-Based Purchasing Pilot (LVPP) Grant to build the capacity of early childhood education (ECE) facilities and public and public charter schools in the District of Columbia (DC) operating child nutrition programs (CNP). This grant will help increase the quantity, variety and/or frequency of local foods served and increase the use of values-based procurement methods in purchasing locally sourced and unprocessed foods. This grant will support the implementation of three tracks:
- Track 1 will achieve the goal by providing an additional 20-cent reimbursement incentive to CNPs serving locally grown/raised and unprocessed meal components in addition to the existing Healthy Schools Act (HSA) and Healthy Tots Act (HTA) 5-cent local incentive.
- Track 2 will achieve the goal by providing funding to CNPs to purchase small kitchen equipment that can be used to process or cook local foods.
- Track 3 will achieve the goal by providing funding to community-based organizations (CBO) to provide technical assistance (TA) on local and values-based procurement to ECE facilities and public and public charter schools in DC operating CNPs as well as the food service management companies (FSMC) or school meal vendors that they contract with.
Eligibility and Selection Criteria:
OSSE’s Division of Health & Wellness will accept applications from not-for-profit, for-profit, and faith-based organizations for Track 3. OSSE will accept applications from ECE facilities that are currently licensed by OSSE, and public and public charter schools for Tracks 1 and 2.
Applications will be scored using the following selection criteria: program abstract; school/facility recruitment and needs assessment; diversity, equity, and inclusion; monitoring and data collection plan; collaboration with partners and stakeholders; and budget. The selection criteria for Track 3 also includes: logic model; technical assistance plan; program sustainability plan; collaboration with partners and stakeholders (if applicable); and summary of qualifications.
Length of Award:
The total award period for this grant will be two-year awards, ending on Sept. 30, 2026, contingent upon availability of funds. Each budget period will be one year, with the first period beginning on the date of the award and ending on Sept. 30, 2025. The applicant will be required to complete a continuation application each fiscal year. Funding in future fiscal years is contingent on the following:
- Availability of funds;
- Recipient's implementation and/or operation of the program as submitted in the application;
- Recipient's demonstration that substantial progress has been made toward meeting the objectives set forth in the approved application, based on ongoing monitoring and receiving of the recipient's reports;
- Compliance with District and federal laws, regulations, and guidance; and
- Appropriate expenditure of funds throughout the grant award period.
Available Funding for Award:
The total funding available for this grant program is approximately $360,000. OSSE anticipates issuing the following awards based on the specific tracks from this funding opportunity:
Track 1: OSSE anticipates issuing up to 45 awards from this funding opportunity under this track. The total funding available under Track 1 is $300,000.
Track 2: OSSE anticipates issuing up to 20 awards from this funding opportunity under this track. The total funding available under Track 2 is $20,000.
Track 3: OSSE anticipates issuing up to two awards from this funding opportunity under this track. The total funding available under Track 3 is $40,000.
For more information regarding this competition, please contact:
Melissa Gurevitch
Farm to School Program Specialist
Division of Health & Wellness
[email protected]