Federal National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Equipment Grant

Federal National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Equipment Grant is sponsored by Vermont Agency of Education. Provides funding for equipment purchases to improve school nutrition programs.

Narrative Information Collection: 0584-0512 Expiration date: 3/31/2029 # Fiscal Year 2026 National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grants # Fiscal Year 2026 Request for Applications (RFA) # Assistance Listing Number (ALN): 10.

579 # Release Date: April 16, 2026 # Application Due Date: May 28, 2026; 11:59 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) # Anticipated Award Date: August 2026 This information is being collected to assist USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in receiving key information from grant applicants that is needed to evaluate and rank applications, therefore protecting the integrity of the grantee selection process.

This is a voluntary collection and FNS will use the information to solicit applications for the National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grant. This collection does not request any personally identifiable information under the Privacy Act of 1974.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0584-0512. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 1.

00 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.

Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy Support, 1320 Braddock Place, 5th Floor, Alexandria, VA 22314 ATTN: PRA (0584-0512). Do not return the completed form to this address.

2 This Application Checklist provides applicants with a list of the required actions and documents that must be completed. However, FNS expects that applicants will read the entire RFA prior to the submission of their application and comply with all requirements outlined in the solicitation. The Application Checklist is for applicant use only and should not be submitted as part of the Application Package.

Complete the following at least four weeks prior to submission:  Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number;  Register the UEI number in the System for Award Management (SAM); and,  Register in grants. gov . When preparing your application , ensure:  Application format and narrative meet the requirements included in Section 4 – Application and Submission Information and Appendix B – Application Template.

 This includes page limits and all necessary attachments (e.g., Subgrantee RFA). When preparing your budget , ensure the following information is included where applicable:  All key staff proposed to be paid by this grant.  Your organization’s fringe benefit rate and amount, as well as the basis for the computation.

 The type of fringe benefits to be covered with Federal funds.  Types of equipment and supplies, justifications, and estimates, ensuring that the budget is in line with the project description.  Indirect cost information (either a copy of a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) or if no agreement exists and the applicant has never been approved for a NICRA, they may charge up to 15% de minimis).

If an applicant is requesting the de minimis rate or indirect costs are not required, please state this in the budget narrative. When submitting your application, ensure you have submitted the following:  SF-424 – Application for Federal Assistance (fillable PDF in Grants. gov)  SF-424A – Budget Information and Instruction Form (fillable PDF in Grants.

gov)  SF-424B – Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (fillable PDF in Grants. gov)  SF-LLL – Disclosure of Lobbying Activities  FNS-906 – Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire (fillable PDF in Grants. gov)  Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement, if applicable (PDF - Upload using the “Add Attachments” button under SF-424 item #15) 3 1.

Program Description and Objectives ................................................................................................ 5 Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................... 5 Program Description ..........................................................................................................................

5 Key Objective ..................................................................................................................................... 6 2. Federal Award Information ...............................................................................................................

6 Allowable Costs ................................................................................................................................. 7 Unallowable Costs ............................................................................................................................. 7 3.

Eligibility Information ........................................................................................................................ 7 Eligible Applicants ............................................................................................................................. 7 Cost Sharing or Matching Considerations.........................................................................................

8 Pre-Award Screening Requirements ................................................................................................. 8 Acknowledgement of USDA Support ................................................................................................. 8 4.

Application Content Information ...................................................................................................... 8 Content and Form of Application Submission .................................................................................. 8 Special Instructions:.......................................................................................................................

9 Cover Sheet .................................................................................................................................... 9 Application Project Summary ........................................................................................................ 9 Project Narrative ............................................................................................................................

9 Subgrantee RFA ........................................................................................................................... 10 Activities/Indicators Tracker ....................................................................................................... 10 Application Budget Narrative ......................................................................................................

10 Indirect Cost Rate ........................................................................................................................ 11 Required Grant Application Forms .............................................................................................. 11 5.

Application Review Information...................................................................................................... 12 Review Criteria................................................................................................................................. 12 Subgrant Process (60 points) ......................................................................................................

12 Timeline and Reallocation Plan (20 points) ................................................................................ 12 Review and Selection Process ......................................................................................................... 13 6.

Application Submission Information ............................................................................................... 13 Submission Date .............................................................................................................................. 13 Preparing for Electronic Application Submission through Grants.

gov ........................................... 14 How to Submit an Application via Grants. gov ...............................................................................

15 Grants. gov Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission .............................................. 15 4 File attachment names longer than approximately 50 characters can cause problems processing packages.

Please limit file attachment names. Also, do not use any special characters (This includes periods (.) and spacing followed by a dash in the file.

To separate words in naming a file, use underscore. ......................................................................................................................... 16 Intergovernmental Review ..............................................................................................................

16 Funding Restrictions ........................................................................................................................ 16 7. Federal Award Administration Information....................................................................................

16 Federal Award Notice ...................................................................................................................... 16 Administrative and National Policy Requirements ......................................................................... 16 Confidentiality of an Application.................................................................................................

16 Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality of the Review Process .................................................. 17 Administrative Regulations ......................................................................................................... 17 Code of Federal Regulations and Other Government Requirements .........................................

20 Reporting Requirements .................................................................................................................. 21 Financial Reports ......................................................................................................................... 21 Performance Progress Reports (PPR) ..........................................................................................

21 8. Federal Awarding Agency Contacts................................................................................................ 21 9.

Other Information ............................................................................................................................ 21 Debriefing Requests ......................................................................................................................... 21 Appendices ..........................................................................................................................................

22 Appendix A. State Funding Allocation ............................................................................................ 22 Appendix B.

Application Template ................................................................................................. 24 Appendix D. RFA Budget Narrative Checklist .................................................................................

29 Appendix D. FNS-908 Performance Progress Report (PPR) ........................................................... 31 5 # 1.

Program Description and Objectives Under the leadership of Secretary Brooke Rollins, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is committed to strengthening strategies to encourage healthy choices, healthy outcomes, and healthy families.

In support of this principle, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is pleased to announce the availability of $20 million to provide grants on a competitive basis to State agencies for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Equipment Assistance Grants, as authorized under the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (Public Law 119-4 ), and the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026 (Public Law 119-37 ).

The NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant provides funds to NSLP State agencies to administer competitive subgrants to eligible local education agencies (LEAs), school food authorities (SFAs), and schools for the purchase of equipment valued at greater than $1,000.

The purpose of the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant is to help ensure that schools have the equipment they need to serve healthier meals, improve food safety, and to support the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of the School Breakfast Program (SBP).

Since 2010, the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grants have been used to modernize school kitchens nationwide, address equipment disparities in underserved areas, and promote strategies that foster healthy choices for students. In previous years, the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grants have been provided on a non-competitive basis through the FNS Regional Offices.

This competitive Request for Applications (RFA) is a new process, and State agency applicants should review the RFA thoroughly to ensure full understanding of the updated requirements and procedures. As part of the application to this grant, State agency applicants must develop and submit the RFA they will use to competitively award the subgrant.

State agencies may consider any LEA, SFA, or school participating in NSLP as eligible to receive an NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant award Selection criteria that State agencies are encouraged to consider when awarding the subgrants may include, but are not limited to, the following: Opportunities to improve the nutrition and quality of meals, including supporting the implementation of updated nutrition requirements for school meals.

Age or lack of appropriate food service equipment. Ability of food service equipment to increase the efficiency of procurement, food storage, and distribution/service. The availability of existing State and local funding for equipment purchases.

Strategies for adopting cafeteria changes that provide more convenience and appeal to the student. A State agency may use up to five percent of its allocation for State-level administrative costs associated with awarding grants to eligible subgrantees. 6 Below is the Program Objective.

As noted in Section 4, within the “Activities/Indicators Tracker,” proposed activities should be clearly aligned to this objective and its associated activities and indicators. Application proposals must include the objective below. Note that if awarded, grantees will be required to report on progress towards activities aligned with the required objective and must use the FNS-908 Performance Progress Report.

Carefully considering proposed activities and indicators will prepare grantees for their progress reporting requirements if awarded. 1 Provide subgrants to LEAs, SFAs and schools to purchase equipment to serve healthier meals, improve food safety, and support the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of the School Breakfast Program (SBP). # 2.

Federal Award Information The following information is intended to provide applicants with information to help make informed decisions about proposal submissions. • Total amount of funding expected to award: $20 million • Anticipated number of awards: 54 • Minimum award amount (award floor): $25,000.

00 • Maximum award amount (award ceiling): $ 2,362,417 * Review Appendix A - State Funding Allocation for individual State funding award ceiling • Anticipated award announcement date: August 2026 • Anticipated period of performance (start and end date of the award): September 15, 2026 – September 30, 2028 • Application due date: May 28, 2026 Awards will be made to State agencies on a competitive basis.

Each State agency can apply for up to the funding amount designated for them on Appendix A - State Funding Allocation . These amounts have been determined by formula. FNS is distributing $20 million in available funds by setting a $25,000 base grant amount and distributing the remaining funds using Child Nutrition State Administrative Expense (SAE) allocation formula.

• Grant awards are subject to the availability of funding and/or appropriations of funds. • Should additional funds become available this year or the subsequent fiscal year, FNS may make those funds available to FY26 grantees to support additional equipment subgrants. • State agencies must competitively subgrant to eligible LEAs, SFAs, or schools.

State agencies must complete the initial award phase by January 5, 2028. • Unused funds must be returned by subgrantees to State agencies during the performance period. Within the performance period and subgrant timeframes, State agencies can reallocate funds and award the next applicant approved for an equipment grant that has not received funds during the initial competitive grant application process.

7 To accomplish the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant Program goals, grantees must ensure that funds are provided as subgrants to LEAs, SFAs, and schools. In approving subawards, State agencies must ensure the funds are used by the LEAs, SFAs, and schools for the purchase and installation of equipment with a value of over $1,000.

State agencies may utilize up to five percent of their award for grant administration, which may include expenses related to personnel, equipment and supplies, and training. All costs proposed in the budget and detailed in the budget narrative must be allowable, reasonable, necessary, and allocable. Refer to 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles for a detailed description of all allowable and unallowable costs.

A complete listing of selected items of costs is located at 2 CFR 200. 420 – 200. 476.

Subgrantees will be required to follow procurement regulations at 7 CFR Part 210. 21 and 2 CFR Part 200. 317-327 .

Equipment competitively procured using these grant funds must be necessary, reasonable, and allocable. State agencies’ NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant announcements (i.e., the RFA to eligible subgrantees) must highlight the requirement to follow all Federal, State, and local procurement laws when purchasing equipment with these grant awards.

In addition, FNS clarified that installation costs are considered an allowable expense under the Equipment Assistance Grant in memorandum SP 06-2025 National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grants: Installation Expenditures . State agencies and subgrantees must follow the rules outlined in 7 CFR 210. 14(a); noting the construction of buildings is prohibited.

# 3. Eligibility Information There are 54 States responsible for administering the NSLP that have agreements with FNS that are eligible to apply (please refer to Appendix A – State Funding Allocation).

In States where more than one agency has an agreement in place with FNS to administer the NSLP, the primary NSLP State agency (i.e. the agency that serves the majority of SFAs) is the agency that is eligible to apply for this grant opportunity.

In States with more than one agency, the primary agency is required to coordinate with the secondary NSLP State agency (which serves a smaller portion of SFAs) to ensure that all LEAs, SFAs, and schools can apply for NSLP Equipment Assistance Grants. Applicants that do not meet the eligibility definition will be deemed ineligible and removed from competition without further consideration.

8 Note : In cases where an applicant is deemed nonresponsive for failing to submit required elements or documents associated with this RFA, they will be considered ineligible and removed from consideration. # Cost Sharing or Matching Considerations There are no cost sharing or matching requirements for this award.

# Pre-Award Screening Requirements In reviewing applications in any discretionary grant competition, prior to making a Federal award, Federal awarding agencies, in accordance with 2 CFR 200. 205, are required to review information available through any OMB-designated repositories of government-wide eligibility qualifications or financial integrity information.

Additionally, Federal awarding agencies are required to have a framework in place for evaluating the risks posed by applicants before they receive Federal awards. The FNS review of risk posed by applicants will be based on the following: • SAM. gov, the System for Award Management , the Official U.S. Government system that consolidated the capabilities of CCR/FedReg, ORCA, EPLS, and FAPIIS.

• FNS Risk Assessment Questionnaire (FNS-906) o Applicants must complete the Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire that allows FNS to evaluate aspects of the applicant’s financial stability, quality of management systems, and history of performance, reports, and findings from audits. The questionnaire contains a number of questions that may be an indicator of potential risk.

The evaluation of the information obtained from the designated systems and the risk assessment questionnaire may result in FNS imposing special conditions or additional oversight requirements that correspond to the degree of risk assessed. # Acknowledgement of USDA Support As required in 2 CFR 415.

2, the recipient must have an acknowledgement of the USDA awarding agency support placed on any information dissemination products with any Federal financial assistance support, including those which report the results of, or describe, a Federal financial assistance-supported activity. Grant recipients ma y be asked to host USDA officials for a site visit during the course of their grant award.

All costs associated with the site visit will be paid for by USDA and are not expected to be included in grant budgets. # 4. Application Content Information # Content and Form of Application Submission FNS strongly encourages eligible applicants interested in applying to this program to adhere to the application template (Appendix B).

The proposed project plan should be presented on 8 ½” x 11” white paper with at least 1-inch margins on the top and bottom. All pages should be single-spaced in 12-point font. The project description with relevant information should be captured on no more than 5 pages, not including subgrantee RFA, budget narrative(s), and required forms.

All pages, excluding form pages, must be numbered. 9 • Applications that are submitted late will not be considered in this competition. FNS will not consider additions or revisions to applications unless they are submitted via Grants.

gov by the deadline. No additions or revisions will be accepted after the deadline. • Applications submitted without the required supporting documents, forms, and certifications will not be considered.

• Applications missing a written proposal or budget narrative will not be considered and will be deemed non-responsive and removed from further consideration. • FNS reserves the right to request clarification on any application submitted in response to this solicitation. • Applications not submitted via Grants.

gov will not be considered. • If multiple application packages are submitted through Grants. gov by the same applicant in response to this solicitation, FNS will accept the latest application package successfully submitted.

All other packages submitted by the applicant will be removed from this competition. The cover page should include, at a minimum: • Applicant’s name and mailing address. • Primary contact’s name, job title, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address.

• Grant program title and subprogram title. Application Project Summary The application should clearly describe the State agency subgrant process and the anticipated outcomes that would result if the proposal were to be funded.

The project narrative should clearly identify how the subgrant process will meet the requirements of the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant objective of providing subgrants to LEAs, SFAs and schools to purchase equipment to serving healthier meals, improving food safety, and/or helping support the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of SBP.

The following should be addressed in the narrative: • Describe the grant process ensuring the planned approach is competitive and fair. • Describe how LEAs, SFAs and schools can justify their need for equipment in this process. • Describe how the process ensures LEAs, SFAs, and schools understand the grant is for equipment greater than $1,000.

• Describe plans for reallocating unused funds to other eligible subgrantees, including how the State’s subgrant process meets the required timeline outlined in this RFA. • Briefly describe the plan for staffing the grant project.

Response should include key personnel, identifying roles and responsibilities, 10 The State agency applicant must develop and submit a subgrantee RFA to competitively award the subgrant as a part of this grant application. The RFA must include the following: • Selection criteria that meets the purpose of the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant. • Requirement that the equipment purchased must have a value of greater than $1,000.

• Reference to all applicable Federal and State level procurement requirements (Government-wide and USDA). • Period of performance for the grant awards to ensure that all procurement and expenditure activities are completed by September 30, 2028, for the final grant awards and closeout.

Activities/Indicators Tracker Proposed Activities and indicators measuring success must be mapped to the Program Objective (as described in Section 1 – Program Description) in the below format (note that additional Activities/Indicators can be added as needed). Note : Indicators are defined as any metric that you anticipate will be able to be tracked during the period of performance of the grant.

Common examples include Number of Subgrant Applicants, Number of Subgrants Awarded, Number of People Trained. Objective # Provide subgrants to LEAs, SFAs and schools to purchase equipment to serve healthier meals, improve food safety, and help support the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of the School Breakfast Program (SBP).

Activity Announce and receive subgrantee NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant Applications Indicator(s) Number of applications received Activity Award NSLP Equipment Assistance Grants Indicator(s) Number of recipients Activity Reallocate unused NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant Funds Indicator(s) Number of awards provided Activity Equipment Purchased by NSLP Equipment Assistance Subgrantees Indicator(s) Final list of equipment awarded to recipients from initial and reallocated grant funds Application Budget Narrative Eligible applicants should use the attached Budget Narrative Template (see Appendix C).

The budget narrative should give the item-by-item breakdown for each category and show the calculations used to derive the costs. The budget narrative serves two purposes: it explains how the costs were estimated, and it justifies the need for the cost.

The budget and budget narrative must be in line with the proposed project description; there should be no items listed in the budget narrative that are not described in the project proposal. Proposed costs must be necessary, reasonable, and allocable to carry out the project's goals and objectives. 11 Both the detailed budget (SF-424A) and the narrative should include: The amount of Federal funds requested.

The funding requested must not exceed the amount specified in Appendix A - State Funding Allocation . A narrative description of the Federal funds requested in SF-424A, including calculations detailing how these funds requested were derived.

Describe costs such as: • Other (e.g., subgrants); and • Indirect Costs, if the budget includes indirect costs, the application package must include a copy of the State agency’s most recently approved Federal indirect cost rate agreement. If the State plans to distribute all grant funds as subgrants to LEAs, SFAs and schools, the budget narrative may simply indicate this under the “Other” subgrants line item.

The total amount should match the full sum as specified in Appendix A - State Funding Allocation with zeros for the other portions of the narrative . A current Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) , negotiated with a cognizant Federal agency, should be used to charge indirect costs. Indirect costs may not exceed the negotiated rate.

If a NICRA is used, the percentage and base should be indicated. If the applicant does not have a current Federal negotiated indirect cost rate (including provisional rate) they may elect to charge a de minimis rate of up to 15 percent of modified total direct costs (MTDC). In this instance, the applicant must indicate they are requesting the de minimis rate.

An applicant may elect not to charge indirect costs and instead use all grant funds for direct costs. If indirect costs are not charged, the phrase “none requested” should be stated in the budget narrative. For questions related to the indirect cost rate, please work with the Grant Officer as noted in Section 7 of this RFA.

Note : Each organization is assigned to a single federal agency (by the Office of Management and Budget) that acts on behalf of all federal agencies in indirect cost rate negotiations and is referred to as the “cognizant agency. ” Required Grant Application Forms The required grants. gov forms may be previewed at grants.

gov/web/grants/forms/forms- repository. html . These forms are part of the grants.

gov Workspace application. • Non-Construction Grant Projects Forms: SF-424 Family o Application and Instruction for Federal Assistance (SF-424) o Budget Information and Instructions (SF-424A) o Assurance-Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B) • Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF LLL) o Indicate on your form whether your organization intends to conduct lobbying activities.

If you organization does not intend to lobby, write “Not Applicable” in boxes required to be completed. 12 • FNS-906 (Grant Program Accounting System and Financial Capability Questionnaire) • Additional Required Information o Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number. Please see below for further information o SAM registration.

Please see below for further information. # 5. Application Review Information FNS will pre-screen all applications to ensure the applicants are eligible entities and are in compliance with all Program regulations.

FNS will not approve any waivers from Program regulations for any projects submitted in response to this solicitation. # Evaluation Factors and Criteria The following selection criteria will be used to evaluate applications for this RFA. Evaluations will be based on a 100-point scale: Subgrant Process (60 points) • Subgrant approach is competitive and fair.

• Subgrant process contributes to the objective of the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant: Provide subgrants to LEAs, SFAs and schools to purchase equipment to serve healthier meals, improve food safety, and support the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of the School Breakfast Program (SBP). • RFA includes all required elements, i.e. the following: o Selection criteria that meets the purpose of the NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant.

o Requirement that the equipment purchased must have a value greater than $1,000. o Reference to all applicable Federal and State level procurement requirements (Government-wide and USDA). o Period of performance for the grant awards to ensure that all procurement and expenditure activities are completed by September 30, 2028, for the final grant awards and closeout.

Timeline and Reallocation Plan (20 points) • Application demonstrates the State agency will competitively subgrant to eligible LEAs/SFAs/schools concluding initial award phase by January 5, 2028. Unused subgrant funds will be returned by subgrantees by a specified date for potential allocation to other approved applications from LEAs, SFAs or schools within the State.

• Plan to reallocate funds to additional subgrantees demonstrates supporting the objective of subgrants to LEAs, SFAs and schools to purchase equipment to serve healthier meals, improve food safety, and help support the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of the School Breakfast Program (SBP).

13 Appropriate and Efficient Budget (20 points) • Applications will be scored on the appropriate and efficient use of grant funds, as evidenced by the submitted Budget (SF-424A) and Budget Narrative. This includes an assessment of reasonability of outlined costs.

Total Points Available: 100 # Review and Selection Process Following the initial screening process, FNS will assemble a panel group to review and determine the technical merits of each application. The panel will evaluate the proposals based on how well they address the required application components and arrange the applications from highest to lowest score.

The panel members will recommend applications to consider for a grant award based on the evaluation scoring. FNS may request information from the applicant not clearly addressed in their proposal. # 6.

Application Submission Information Complete grant applications must be uploaded to grants. gov by 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time • Applications must be submitted via grants. gov. Mailed, emailed, or hand-delivered application packages will not be accepted.

For further instructions, see the “Preparing for Electronic Application Submission through Grants. gov” below. • Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

• FNS will not consider additions or revisions to applications unless they are submitted via grants. gov by the deadline. No additions or revisions will be accepted after the deadline.

• If multiple application packages are submitted through grants. gov by the same applicant in response to this solicitation, FNS will accept the latest application package successfully submitted. All other packages submitted by the applicant will be removed from this competition.

• Those applicants who fail to submit any required documents or forms will be deemed NONRESPONSIVE and therefore will be INELIGIBLE to participate in the competition and removed from further consideration. FNS strongly encourages applicants to begin the registration process at least four weeks before the due date and to submit applications to grants.

gov at least one week before the deadline to allow time to troubleshoot any issues should they arise. Please note that upon submission, grants. gov may send multiple confirmation notices.

Applicants should ensure receipt of confirmation that the application was accepted . FNS will not accept applications outside of grants. gov .

Applicants experiencing difficulty submitting applications through grants. gov should contact applicant support via the toll-free number 1-800-518-4726 and email at support@grants. gov .

This service is available 24/7. 14 # Preparing for Electronic Application Submission through Grants. gov Applicants must register with grants.

gov and SAM. gov in order to submit an application to FNS via grants. gov as required.

In order to submit an application, you must: What is a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)? A UEI is a unique number assigned to all entities (public and private companies, individuals, institutions, or organizations) who register to do business with the federal government. For more information, visit the U.S. General Services Administration website .

Where do I go to learn more about the UEI? The U.S. General Services Administration Unique Entity Identifier Update page contains the most up-to-date information about the UEI. Note : Entities can register in SAM.

gov and will be assigned their “SAM UEI. ” For additional information on the UEI process, please visit SAM. gov .

2. Register in the System for Award Management (SAM) • On April 4, 2022, the UEI used across the federal government changed from the DUNS number to the UEI (generated by SAM. gov).

• SAM combines federal procurement systems and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance into one system. Visit SAM. gov for additional information.

• To register, you must have your organization’s UEI, the organization’s Tax ID Number (TIN), and taxpayer name (as it appears on the last tax return). It may take up to 5 to 7 business days or more to register and/or complete the migration of permissions and/or the renewal of an entity record.

• All applicants must have current SAM status at the time of application submission and throughout the duration of a Federal Award in accordance with 2 CFR Part 25. • FNS strongly encourages applicants to begin this process at least 3 weeks before the due date of the grant solicitation. 3.

Create a Grants. gov Account The next step in the registration process is to create an account with grants. gov. Applicants must know their organization’s Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) to complete this process.

For more detailed instruction about creating a profile on grants. gov, visit grants. gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.

html . 15 # How to Submit an Application via Grants. gov Applicants must apply online using Workspace .

Workspace is a shared, online environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and edit different web forms within an application. For each funding opportunity announcement or RFA, you can create individual instances of a workspace. For additional training resources, including video tutorials, visit grants.

gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training. html . Applicant Support : Grants.

gov provides applicants 24/7 support (except Federal holidays) via the toll-free number 1-800-518-4726 and email at support@grants. gov . If you are experiencing difficulties with your submission, it is best to contact grants.

gov support and get a ticket number. The Support Center ticket number will assist the Center with tracking your issue. For programmatic and financial-related questions regarding this specific grant opportunity, please contact the Grant Officer noted in Section 7 – Federal Awarding Agency Contacts of this RFA.

# Grants. gov Receipt Requirements and Proof of Timely Submission All applications must be received by 11:59 PM EDT on May 28, 2026, as detailed in Section 4 – Submission Date. Proof