School Food Authorities (SFAs) that were granted funding have received lists specifying the campus(es) approved for equipment purchases, as well as the equipment description, unit cost, and number of units of each type allowed. They must complete these purchases and have the equipment in place as soon as possible. If the specified equipment is no longer needed, or if it cannot be in place by specified deadlines (September 1, 2010, for the ARRA funds; December 31, 2010, for the "2010 NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant"), SFAs are asked to notify TDA by April 26, 2010, so the funds may be given to another deserving SFA.

The grants became available to reimburse payment requests on February 17, 2010. TDA cannot accept invoices or payment reimbursement requests prior to that date for either grant. The purpose of these grants is to facilitate new spending. Items not described in the SFA's approval letter and items that fall short of USDA's definition of allowable equipment - whether in purpose or cost - will not be funded via these grants. The SFAs must follow their original plan for use of the equipment as stated in the application. These funds may not be used for any piece of equipment or at a different school than specified in the award.

SFAs are required to follow all Federal, State and Local procurement laws when purchasing equipment under these grants. Equipment purchased with this grant will be verified during the SFA's Coordinated Review Effort. If the SFA is deemed to be noncompliant during this review regarding equipment purchased with these grant funds, the SFA must reimburse TDA with non-federal funds.

All ARRA grant recipients must provide the following forms and pieces of information to TDA before they will receive grant funds:

• Data Universal Numbering System identification number, or "D-U-N-S,"
• Commercial and Governmental Entity code, or "CAGE" (available through www.ccr.gov), and
• Form 74-176 "Vendor Direct Deposit Authorization" (available below on this page).

ARRA recipients must also return an original signed ARRA Affidavit (available below on this page).

TDA will process the equipment reimbursement claim upon receipt of the invoice from the SFA. To request a payment from these funds, submit a copy of the provided Claim Cover Sheet (available below on this page) and a copy of the original invoice to the TDA Food and Nutrition Division (FND). The equipment description and location on the Claim Cover Sheet should match the information submitted on the grant application, provided on the Award List.

Texas schools that applied for, but did not receive, an ARRA grant were eligible for the 2010 NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant, which was awarded in April. Some unused funding from that original has been granted to the schools listed here for the specified pieces of equipment. Schools awarded these funds should complete these purchases and have the equipment in place by December 31, 2010.

Items not explicitly approved and items that fall short of USDA's definition of allowable equipment - whether in purpose or cost - will not be funded via this grant.

TDA is awarding nearly $4 million to 122 Texas schools to help purchase new kitchen equipment. Read Commissioner Todd Staples' press release about the grants here.

The portion of the funding (about $900,000) that came from ARRA is being reallocated after costs during the earlier rounds of funding were less than expected. The award list for this latest round of ARRA funding is available here. Schools awarded these funds should complete these purchases and have the equipment in place by September 1, 2010. Click here to see the text of the letter sent to the school food authorities awarded the funding.

Texas schools that applied for, but did not receive, an ARRA grant were eligible for the 2010 NSLP Equipment Assistance Grant. That award (almost $3 million in Texas) has been granted to the schools listed here for the specified pieces of equipment. Schools awarded these funds should complete these purchases and have the equipment in place by December 31, 2010. Click here to see the text of the letter sent to the school food authorities awarded the funding.

Items not explicitly approved and items that fall short of USDA's definition of allowable equipment - whether in purpose or cost - will not be funded via this grant. In the event that a purchase does not meet grant requirements, that funding may be reallocated to other deserving Texas SFAs.

On August 21, 2009, USDA issued memo SP 37-2009 "Clarification on Intent of 2009 Equipment Assistance Grants," which includes this paragraph:

"It has come to our attention that there are instances in which an SFA received ARRA grant funds and, when the SFA competitively procured for the approved equipment, the actual net cost was less than the $5,000 equipment threshold (or the State regulated threshold). This could happen when the lowest responsive responsible bid received is less than $5,000, or when a manufacturer provides a rebate which lowers the net cost of the equipment below the $5,000 threshold. In the above indicated circumstances, a net cost below the $5,000 threshold is acceptable for the purpose of the ARRA equipment assistance grants, as it meets the intent of ARRA."

Before an SFA can receive ARRA funds, TDA must have a completed Form 74-176 "Vendor Direct Deposit Authorization" on file for that SFA. Click here to download the form. Grantees should print carefully and legibly to ensure timely and efficient processing by TDA, the Texas Comptroller's Office and their financial institution.  

To report revenue and expenses associated with ARRA grants, SFAs need to record this as a subobject under their child nutrition fund 240. They will need to report on their Schedule of Federal Awards this grant under the grant's CFDA number separate from their regular child nutrition funds. The CFDA number that pertains to the ARRA Equipment Grant is 10.579.

All equipment purchased under this grant must meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) definition of allowable equipment, which is "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 more." Items not described in this approval letter and items that fall short of USDA's definition of allowable equipment - whether in purpose or cost - will not be funded via this grant. SFAs are required to follow all Federal, State and Local procurement laws when purchasing equipment under these grants.

Funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) has been awarded. The total allocation of $11.5 million has been obligated to fund 939 pieces of equipment in 381 Texas schools.  All applicants are being notified by mail of the outcome for their SFA.

The complete list of awards is available here.

Items not explicitly approved and items that fall short of USDA's definition of allowable equipment - whether in purpose or cost - will not be funded via this grant. In the event that a purchase does not meet grant requirements, that funding may be reallocated to other deserving Texas SFAs.

Updated May 28, 2009

Before a school food authority (SFA) can receive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds, TDA must have a completed Form 74-176 “Vendor Direct Deposit Authorization” on file for that SFA. The form will be included with specific instructions with the award notification letters to SFA food service directors.

All equipment purchased under this grant must meet USDA definition of allowable equipment, which is “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 more.” Items not described in the approval letter and items that fall short of USDA’s definition of allowable equipment – whether in purpose or cost – will not be funded via this grant. SFAs are required to follow all federal, state and local procurement laws when purchasing equipment under these grants.

TDA will release payment for the equipment described in the award upon receipt of the invoice. To request a payment from these funds, SFAs will submit a copy of the ARRA Claim Cover Sheet and a copy of the original invoice to the TDA Food and Nutrition Division (FND). The equipment description and location on the Claim Cover Sheet should match the information submitted on the grant application. The cover sheet will also be included with the award letters.

As stated in USDA’s memo SP 18-2009 introducing this grant, “While the primary effect of the NSLP equipment assistance grants authorized by the ARRA will be to improve the infrastructure in the NSLP, it is important to note that the authority for the grants was provided in the context of the overall effort to stimulate activity within the American economy.” SFAs are expected to complete their equipment purchases according to the timeframe you provided in their ARRA Equipment Assistance Grant Application. Funds not expended according to expected timelines might be subject to reallocation to other Texas SFAs.

Equipment purchased with this grant will be verified during Coordinated Review Effort. Any noncompliance may result in the SFA refunding TDA for disallowed purchases.

Updated May 22, 2009

This week, after ineligible items were removed from consideration, the open-ended questions on the ARRA grant applications were sent to the review panel. The value of the equipment requests being considered is more than $126 million. The total amount Texas was allocated for these grants is $11.5 million.

Of the 2,577 school-level applications being reviewed:

• 2,051 list at least one piece of equipment they feel would “improve the quality of the school foodservice in order to meet dietary guidelines.”
• 2,191 list at least one piece of equipment they feel would “improve the safety of the food served in the school meals programs.”
• 2,152 list at least one piece of equipment they feel would “improve the overall energy efficiency of the school food service operations”
• 1,645 list at least one piece of equipment they feel would “allow the school to support expanded participation in the school meals program.”

Updated May 15, 2009

Texas School Food Authority (SFA) applications for the ARRA Equipment Assistance Grants are being evaluated according to the criteria specified in the scoring rubric.

Updated May 12, 2009

The Texas Department of Agriculture received an overwhelming response from more than 3,000 schools that applied for the nutrition equipment assistance grants funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. These applications included requests for nearly 10,000 separate pieces of equipment totaling over $135 million. The total amount that will be allocated to select Texas school food authorities is $11.5 million.

As stated in the USDA policy memo SP 18-2009, the definition of allowable equipment for this grant is "articles of nonexpendable, tangible personal property with a useful life of more than one year and a per unit acquisition cost of $5,000" (link provided below). Accordingly, items requested with a per-unit acquisition cost of less that $5,000 will be removed from consideration.

The period to apply for nutrition equipment assistance grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) ended on April 30, 2009. Recipients of grants will be notified by mail starting on June 8, 2009. If you have any questions concerning the grant application, please call (888) TEX-KIDS or e-mail squaremeals@TexasAgriculture.gov.

National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grants

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) was signed into law on February 17, 2009. The ARRA provides a one-time appropriation of $100 million for equipment assistance to school food authorities (SFAs) participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Texas will distribute an allocation of $11.5 million among SFAs that competitively apply for these grants. 

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples wants to ensure that swift action is a priority when applying for, awarding and utilizing these grants. "It is my first priority to ensure any dollars allocated to the Texas Department of Agriculture are used efficiently and have the greatest impact to the eligible recipients," Commissioner Staples said.  "Schools can use this money to replace old, worn-out equipment and make sure our children are receiving healthy meals. These funds will go a long way to improving the nutritional offerings in schools."

SFAs interested in applying for this grant will need to complete an online application following the link given below.  A planning version of the application is also available below for those who want to work with a draft copy before they enter the actual application.