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Announcement of Funding Opportunity
RFP #GC21-005

FY 2020 National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Equipment Assistance Grant for School Food Authorities (SFAs)

Recent Updates

Last Updated on April 20, 2021:

UPDATE 4/2/2021: The deadline to submit questions for RFP GC21-005, FY 2020 National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Equipment Assistance Grant for School Food Authorities (SFAs) has been extended until April 13, 2021. Please note that applicants who have problems accessing SharePoint or uploading the application to the SharePoint portal may contact foodequip@nysed.gov throughout the application submission period. However, questions related to the context and understanding of the RFP will only be addressed during the Q&A period.

Submit questions to foodequip@nysed.gov. The Questions and Answers Summary is still scheduled for posting here by April 20, 2021. The application deadline is 11:59 p.m. on May 4, 2021.

Grant Application Documents

RFP Guidance Manual (PDF) Adobe PDF | RFP Guidance Manual (Word) Word document
Grant Application Only (Fillable PDF)* Adobe PDF (Revised 4/20/2021) | Grant Application Only (Word)* Word document
Equipment Request Chart for Serving Lines Adobe PDF | Equipment Request Chart for Serving Lines Word document
Application Submission Instructions Adobe PDF
NYSED External Users Accessing SharePoint Site Adobe PDF
List of Previous Food Service Equipment Grant Recipients FY 2019 Microsoft Excel
Contract Boilerplate Adobe PDF
Questions and Answers Adobe PDF – Posted 4/20/2021

*NOTE: Among documents posted with the RFP are Word and fillable PDFs of the application. This is the same as the application within the RFP but is being provided separately for applicants’ convenience.

Purpose of Grant

The School Food Service Equipment Grant is intended to improve the infrastructure of the NSLP. This will be achieved by providing the opportunity for schools to purchase equipment to serve healthier meals that meet the updated meal patterns, improve the overall quality of meals, improve efficiency of production and service, improve food safety and expand participation in school meals programs.

Eligible Applicants

All Recipient Agencies (RA) under a School Food Authority (SFA) participating in the NSLP in New York State are eligible (including public school districts, non-profit nonpublic schools, charter schools and residential childcare institutions). Priority will be given to RAs with 50 percent or more students eligible for free or reduced price meals and to RAs that did not receive a previous grant award through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Food Service Equipment Grant, the FY 2010, FY 2014, FY 2015, FY 2016, FY 2017, FY 2018 or the FY 2019 National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grant for School Food Authorities.
A list of RAs that previously received an equipment grant is available at: List of Previous Food Service Equipment Grant Recipients FY 2019 Microsoft Excel
The SFA will apply on behalf of their eligible RAs. The SFA will submit a separate application for each piece of requested equipment for an eligible RA.

Mandatory Requirements

Equipment Assistance Grant Applications will only be considered if they meet the following Mandatory Application Requirements:

  • Not-for-profit applicants must be Prequalified in the Grants Gateway by the application deadline. Additional information is provided in the Prequalification for Individual Applicants section below.
  • Applications must be submitted by an eligible applicant that is currently approved to participate in NSLP or that receives formal SED approval to operate NSLP by the application deadline.
  • Applications must request equipment that is allowable under this RFP and has a value greater than $1,000.
  • All non-public school applicants must include a current Certificate of Occupancy from the local government authority having jurisdiction for determining compliance with applicable Building Codes of New York State and current building Fire Inspection that indicates no violations from the local government authority having jurisdiction for determining compliance with applicable Fire Codes of New York State for the RA building in which the equipment will be placed. (See Required Documents section of RFP for details.)

Applications that do not meet the Mandatory Application Requirements and/or that are not uploaded into the SharePoint submission portal by the application deadline will not be considered. Please see the “External Users Accessing SharePoint” document posted with the RFP.

Funding and Project Dates

  • Funds Available: $1,805,067
  • Project Dates: 7/1/2021-6/30/2022
  • SFAs must complete the solicitation of the equipment and obligation of funds by 9/30/2021. All procurement and expenditure activities must be completed no later than 6/30/2022.
  • Grant Amounts: A value greater than $1,000 up to a maximum of $20,000 per Recipient Agency (RA). Separate applications must be submitted for each piece of requested equipment. Total combined awards to an SFA for an individual RA cannot exceed $20,000.

Due Date

Fully completed applications including all required pieces must be uploaded into the SharePoint submission portal by 11:59 p.m. on May 4, 2021

Please note the new submission process: A SharePoint submission portal has been created for the RFP#GC21-0005 National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grant Application for School Food Authorities. Permissions for access to the SharePoint submission portal for uploading applications are granted by the NYSED Child Nutrition Office. All food service directors, business officials and CN Fiscal Contacts entered in the Child Nutrition Management System (CNMS) will be sent an email invitation to gain access to the SharePoint submission portal. Please allow 24-48 hours from the posting of the RFP to receive this email invitation. Potential applicants that have not yet been given access should request an invitation via FOODEQUIP@NYSED.GOV no earlier than March 26, 2021. Be sure to include accurate information when identifying the Recipient Agency which the School Food Authority will be submitting on behalf of. The SFA administration must designate only one duly authorized user to upload all submissions. The submission portal exists only to upload completed applications and is not used to complete the application itself.

Questions and Answers

Questions and Answers Adobe PDF – Posted 4/20/2021

Questions regarding this grant must be emailed to foodequip@nysed.gov by April 13, 2021. A Questions and Answers Summary will be posted here by April 20, 2021.

Non-Mandatory Notice of Intent

The Notice of Intent (NOI) is not a requirement for submitting a complete application by the application date; however, NYSED strongly encourages all prospective applicants to submit an NOI to ensure a timely and thorough review and rating process. A non-profit applicant’s NOI will also help to facilitate timely review of their prequalification materials. The notice of intent is a simple email notice stating your organization’s (use the legal name) intent to submit an application for this grant. Please also include your organization’s NYS Vendor ID. The NOI due date is April 20, 2021. Please send the NOI to foodequip@nysed.gov.

Contacts

Program:
Tara Webster/Colleen Hasselbach
foodequip@nysed.gov
Fiscal:
Thomas McBride
foodequip@nysed.gov

Grant Application Documents

RFP Guidance Manual (PDF) Adobe PDF | RFP Guidance Manual (Word) Word document
Grant Application Only (Fillable PDF)* Adobe PDF (Revised 4/20/2021) | Grant Application Only (Word)* Word document
Equipment Request Chart for Serving Lines Adobe PDF | Equipment Request Chart for Serving Lines Word document
Application Submission Instructions Adobe PDF
NYSED External Users Accessing SharePoint Site Adobe PDF
List of Previous Food Service Equipment Grant Recipients FY 2019 Microsoft Excel
Contract Boilerplate Adobe PDF
Questions and Answers Adobe PDF – Posted 4/20/2021

*NOTE: Among documents posted with the RFP are Word and fillable PDFs of the application. This is the same as the application within the RFP but is being provided separately for applicants’ convenience.

Last Updated: April 21, 2021