FY2024 National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grant for SFAs

The RFP will be posted to P-12 Funding Opportunities

Purpose of Grant: The School Food Service Equipment Grant is intended to improve the infrastructure of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). This will be achieved by providing the opportunity for schools to purchase equipment to serve healthier meals, improve the overall quality of meals, improve food safety, expand participation in school meals programs, and help to support the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of the School Breakfast Program.

Eligible Applicants: School Food Authorities (SFA) in New York State (NYS) that were not awarded this grant in Fiscal Years (FY) 2020, 2021, 2022, or 2023 are eligible to apply for funding. Eligible SFAs may apply for funding for their Recipient Agencies (RA) that participate in the NSLP (including public schools, nonpublic schools, charter schools and residential childcare institutions).

The SFA will apply on behalf of their eligible RAs. Unless otherwise exempt, as detailed in this RFP, 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 the following Mandatory Application Requirements are met:

• Non-public and charter school SFA applicants are prequalified in the Statewide Financial System (SFS) by the application deadline of 5:00 p.m. on June 16, 2025. Additional information is provided in the Prequalification Requirement section
• Applications are submitted by an eligible SFA applicant that is currently approved to participate in the NSLP or that receives formal approval from the New York State Education Department (NYSED) to operate the NSLP by the application
• Applications request equipment that is allowable under this RFP with a value greater than $1,000.
• Applications must be submitted to the SharePoint submission website by the application deadline. Applications submitted by any mode other than to the SharePoint website, including mail, email, etc., will not be accepted. Please see the “FY24 SharePoint Instructions” document.

Funding and Project Dates: $557,637 available for project period 7/1/2025 - 6/30/26. Grant Amounts: A value greater than $1,000 up to a maximum of $20,000. Unless otherwise exempt, as detailed in this RFP, 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.

Submission Process: A SharePoint site for application submissions has been created for RFP 97, FY24 NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant for SFAs. Permission to access the SharePoint site for uploading applications is granted by the NYSED Child Nutrition Office. All food service directors, business officials and Child Nutrition fiscal contacts entered in the Child Nutrition Management System (CNMS) as a contact for an NSLP-participating eligible SFA will be sent an email invitation to gain access to the SharePoint site. Please allow 24-48 hours from the posting of the RFP to receive this email invitation. Potential applicants that did not receive the invitation email should request an invitation via RFP97@nysed.gov . The email request must contain the SFA name, SFA LEA code, the individual’s name, title, and email that wishes to be granted access to the SharePoint site.

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. An NOI submitted for non-public and charter school SFAs will also help to facilitate timely review of their prequalification materials. The notice of intent is a simple email notice stating your SFA’s intent to submit an application for this grant. Please include your SFA LEA code and NYS Vendor ID number. The NOI due date is June 4, 2025. Please send the NOI to RFP97@nysed.gov .

Prequalification Requirement: Non-public and charter school SFA applicants must be prequalified in the Statewide Financial System (SFS) by the application deadline of 5:00 p.m. on June 16, 2025. Additional information is provided in the Prequalification Requirement section of the RFP.