The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, (Public Law 116-260), , authorized grants to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), Division of Health and Wellness, for providing equipment assistance to School Food Authorities participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). The District of Columbia has been selected to receive funding in the amount of $113,626.
The additional funds were authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) (PL 117-2) under section §1001 (b)(4).
These funds will be available through a competitive grant process to public schools (i.e., schools within the District of Columbia Public Schools), and public charter schools and participating non-profit private/non-public schools.
These funds will make a significant investment by allowing the purchase of capital equipment used to serve healthier meals, meet the nutritional standards with emphasis on more fresh fruits and vegetables in school meals, improve food safety and expand accessibility to food services.
In order to make the most effective use of these grant funds, equipment requests must address at least one of the following focus areas:
- Equipment that lends itself to improving the quality of school food service meals that meet the dietary guidelines (e.g., purchasing an equipment alternative to a deep fryer, or steam ovens that improve quality of prepared fresh or fresh-frozen vegetables).
- Equipment that improves the safety of food served in the school meal programs (e.g., cold/hot holding bags/equipment, dish washing equipment, refrigeration, milk coolers, freezers, blast chillers, etc.).
- Equipment that improves the overall energy efficiency of the school food service operations (e.g., purchase of an energy-efficient walk-in freezer replacing an outdated, energy-demanding freezer).
- Equipment that allows sponsors to support expanded participation in a school meal program (e.g., equipment for serving meals in a non-traditional setting or to better utilize cafeteria space).
- Equipment that aides in strategies for adopting smarter lunchrooms (e.g., lunchroom changes that appeals to student population; highlighting convenience, healthy choices, and supporting menu changes to healthier options).
The following are examples of allowable equipment that meet the focus areas of this grant. This list is not exhaustive.
- Combi ovens
- Tilt skillets
- Hot and/or cold food service lines
- Salad Bars
- Packing machines
- Water bottle refill stations
The following are examples of allowable equipment that support providing breakfast meals in an alternative setting. This list is not exhaustive.
- Breakfast carts
- Portable kiosks for remote point-of-sale or Grab ‘n Go
- Rolling milk cooler
- Rolling hot and/or cold storage units
- Refrigerators
- Freezers
Total funding available: $113,626
Minimum award amount: $1,000
Maximum award amount: $25,000
Estimated number of awards: 5-10
An applicant may request funds for more than one piece of equipment, but the total funding request for any one application may not exceed $25,000.
If multiple pieces of equipment are requested, an applicant should rank the requested equipment according to need. This ranking will assist OSSE in determining which equipment request to support if an application is partially funded.
Pre-Application Question Period: To ensure an equal opportunity for all applicants, OSSE requests that applicants submit questions regarding the RFA electronically to Sam Ullery at [email protected] by 12 p.m. on Aug. 13, 2024. To ensure a fair process, questions submitted after Aug. 13, 2024 will not receive responses. Responses to questions will be published by Aug. 20, 2024.
- Applicants are strongly encouraged to participate in the following webinar information session. A recording of the information session will be available on the OSSE website.
- Pre-application webinar: August 6, 2024 2:00-3:00 pm.
- Click here to join the information session
- Meeting ID: 246 826 512 665
- Passcode: RCUxbp
- Dial in by phone
- (202) 594-9550, United States, Washington DC
- Phone conference ID: 946 238 651#
Related Content: National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
