March 13, 2009
TO: Sponsors of the National School Lunch Program
RE: Equipment Assistance Grant Funds
Due Date: 5:00 PM, May 15, 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provide a one-time appropriation of $1,030,828 for equipment assistance to Oregon National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Sponsors.
Sponsors are eligible to submit an application, however, priority will be given to sponsors for equipment for schools in which at least 50% of the students are eligible for free or reduced priced meals.
Equipment Definition
Equipment requests may include new equipment, renovation of equipment, or replacement of equipment. USDA regulation 7 CFR 3026.3 and Office of Management and Budget Circular A-87 define equipment for the purpose of NSLP equipment assistance grants as articles of nonexpendable, tangible personal property with a useful life of more than one year and a per unit acquisition cost of $5,000, or sponsor limit if lesser.
Allowable Equipment Costs
Equipment procured using equipment assistance grant funds must be reasonable and allocable in order to be permissible costs. Example: purchasing a walk in freezer for school food service use would be an allowable cost; whereas renovation of the food service area or upgrading the electrical wiring for new equipment would fall under the category of construction costs, which must be paid using the school district’s general fund.
Grant Request
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)
• Equipment that improves the safety of food served in the school meal programs (e.g., cold/hot holding 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efficiency of the school food service operations (e.g. purchase of an energy-efficient walk in freezer replacing an outdated, energy-demanding freezer)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 prices in the grant application may be list price if the list price is less than the sponsor’s threshold for formal bid. If the list price is greater than this threshold, the price given in the grant request must be bid price.
There is no limit on the total amount of the sponsor grant request. However, the Oregon Department of Education Child Nutrition Programs (ODE CNP) reserves the right to fund some pieces of equipment and not others.
Sponsors receiving equipment assistance grant funds must:
• Complete procurement and expenditure activities within three (3) months of the award
• Follow all Federal, State and Local procurement laws when purchasing equipment under these grants
Below is a downloadable copy of the Equipment Assistance Grant Application. Additional copies are posted on the Child Nutrition Programs website.
Deadline
Grant applications are due to ODE CNP by 5:00 PM, May 15, 2009. Grant award applicants will be notified no later than June 8, 2009.
Resources
The National Food Service Management Institute (NFSMI) recently developed a resource for sponsors entitled Equipment Purchasing and Facility Design for School Nutrition Programs, which includes information on decision making for purchase of school food service equipment. This resource is available at http://nfsmi.org/
If you have questions concerning the application, please contact me at (503) 947-5893 or heidi.dupuis@state.or.us Please indicate in your email subject line Equipment Grant.
Sincerely,
Heidi Dupuis
Manager, School Nutrition
Child Nutrition Programs
Office of the Superintendent
