The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), Division of Health and Wellness, has released the Request for Applications (RFA) for the FY 2023 School Food Service Assistance Grant for School Food Authorities (SFA). This RFA solicits applications under two program areas: 1) The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Equipment Assistance and 2) Food and Food Service Waste Reduction. Eligible entities may apply for one or both program areas.
The purpose of the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant is to 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. All purchases of equipment using these funds must be in accordance with federal and District of Columbia procurement laws.
The purpose of the Food and Food Service Waste Reduction program is to allow SFAs to save money by reducing over-purchasing and disposal costs; reduce environmental impacts; support efforts to eliminate hunger; reduce health and odor concerns with food disposal; and support community waste reduction efforts.
The fiscal year 2023 grant application period has been extended. This grant will be available in the Enterprise Grants Management System (EGMS) beginning on Monday, August 21, 2023, and will remain open through Thursday, September 7, 2023 at 3 p.m. No late applications will be accepted.
In order to make the most effective use of these grant funds, expense requests must address at least one of the following focus areas:
NSLP Equipment Assistance
- 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efficiency of the school food service operations (e.g., purchase of an energy-efficient walk-in freezer replacing an outdated, energy-demanding freezer);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); or
- Equipment that aides in strategies for adopting smarter lunchrooms (e.g., lunchroom changes that appeal to students, highlight convenience and healthy choices, and support menu changes to healthier options).
Food and Food Service Waste Reduction
- Supplies and materials (e.g., reusable foodware containers, storage containers, recycle bins);
- Equipment (e.g., food storage equipment);
- Implementation and management programs (e.g., share tables, education, training, and promotion);
- Salaries or stipends for purposes of this grant program only;
- -Funds towards salaries and stipends cannot be used to replace salaries and stipends necessary to operate child nutrition programs and associated activities;
- Hiring external experts in school meals professional standards to conduct trainings;
- Registration fees for webinars or in-person training sessions;
- Travel expenses (e.g., travel to training) for staff or students.
Pre-Application Question Period
- To ensure an equal opportunity for all applicants, OSSE requests that applicants submit questions regarding the RFA electronically to [email protected] by 12 p.m. on Aug. 8, 2023. To ensure a fair process, questions submitted after Aug. 8, 2023, will not receive responses. Responses to questions will be published by Aug. 10, 2023.
- 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: Watch the recording | View the presentation slides
For more information or questions, please contact Shaunice Wall at [email protected].
Related Content: National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
