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Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Descriptions

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE

10.574:  Team Nutrition Grants

Popular Name:  Team Nutrition Training Grants

Objectives:  Team Nutrition (TN) Training Grants for healthy school meals have been identified in USDA's National Strategic Plan for training and technical assistance as one of the anchor delivery systems for supporting the implementation of USDA's nutrition requirements and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in school meals. TN Training Grants offer funding to State agencies to deliver new and innovative training programs on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2000 to school and child care decision makers including teachers, school food service personnel, principals, superintendents, board members, parents and leaders of children's organizations.

PROGRAM AND AWARD FINANCIAL AND INFORMATION CONTACTS
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO.
APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS INFORMATION CONTACTS
RELATED PROGRAMS ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS
PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS


10.574 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:  State agencies that administer the National School Lunch Program and/or Child and Adult Care Food Program may apply for a TN Training Grant. States may apply individually, or apply as a coalition within their State if there is an alternate State agency, or may establish a network and apply as a coalition of States.

Beneficiary Eligibility:  School and child care decision makers, school food service staff and children.

Credentials/Documentation:  State agencies must administer the National School Lunch Program and/or Child and Adult Care Food Program. Applicants must prove ability to provide a competent experienced staff and other resources to assure adequate development, supervision and execution of TN Training Grant activities. In addition, applicants are required to submit a written proposal which includes a description of the training issue or issues to be addressed, the proposed project approach, the rationale for it, and specific program objectives. A properly executed Federal/State Agreement between the Food and Nutrition Service and the State agency is necessary before funds can be allocated.

10.574 APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS:

Preapplication Coordination:  State agencies are furnished with a copy of the Request for Applications package on how to apply for a TN Training Grant. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure:  Applicants must submit a complete application to the Food and Nutrition Service by the deadline specified.

Award Procedure:  All applications that meet the published deadline for submission will be screened for completeness and conformity to the requirements as announced in the Request for applications package. A panel composed of Food and Nutrition Service Staff will convene to determine the technical merit of each grant application, provide a numerical score and make final selections.

Deadlines:  The deadlines for the TN Training Grants are specified in the Request for Applications package.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:  Once the application is received from the State agency it is about 3 months before announcement of the TN Training Grant awards.

Appeals:  None.

Renewals:  Fiscal Year 2000 TN Training Grants have been mandated by Congress.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals:  Technical Review Criteria, which are furnished to all applicants in the Request for Applications package are used by the review panel to score and rank TN Training Grant applications.

Examples of Funded Projects:  The hard work put forth by all of the State agencies receiving 1995 TN Training Grants has resulted in thousands of school food service personnel receiving hands-on and classroom training on how to implement the Dietary Guidelines in school meals, use new culinary techniques, and market new menus and recipes. Additionally, many of the grant awardees developed training and technical assistance materials for use during and after the grant period. Materials developed included: a CD ROM training package on menu management; training packages including lesson plans and videos for training school food service personnel on healthy food preparation, culinary techniques, and recipe modification; marketing and nutrition education materials for students, parents, food service professionals, teachers and community groups; recipes modified for healthy school meals; and resource libraries. Grant awardees for the 1996 and 1997 TN Training Grants provided training for school food service personnel on the implementation of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the School Meals Initiative; established network connections for their school via the Internet; created training or informational videos for their students, community groups, and school food service personnel; provided software training for their school food service personnel; integrated community and educational partners into their efforts to improve school meals and the overall health of our Nation's children; and provided local level training grants to school districts. The 1998 and 1999 TN Training Grants promise innovative projects such as the development of an interactive nutrition education and training web site that is accessible to students, teachers, school food service personnel and parents; development of training curricula for teachers to incorporate nutrition education activities into their lessons; and providing training for school districts on integrating TN with school health programs. The 1999 TN Demonstration Projects were awarded funding to help FNS develop models of firmly established TN initiatives that will be appealing and helpful to states across the country.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:  $148,732 to $498,490; $263,272 (FY 1999); $50,000 to $200,000 (FY 2000 est.).

10.574 RELATED PROGRAMS:

None.

10.574 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

The TN Training Grants were first awarded in 1995. Through these grants, States have conducted over 2,500 workshops, training over 98,000 food service staff with an impact on more than 7 million children. In 1999, 23 applications were received and 12 State agencies were selected for funding totaling about $2.3 million. Further 4 applications were received for the TN Demonstration Projects of which all were selected for funding totaling about $1.9 million.

10.574 FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO:

Federal Agency:  FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, (DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE )

Type of Assistance:  Project Grants.

Obligations:  (Grants) FY 99 $4,212,350; FY 00 est $4,000,000; and FY 01 est $4,000,000.

Budget Account Number:  12-3539-0-1-605.

Authorization:  National School Lunch Act, Section 6(a)(3) Department Fiscal Year 1996 Appropriation, Department of Agriculture Fiscal Year 1997 Appropriation, Public Law 104-280, Department of Agriculture Fiscal Year 1998 Appropriation, Public Law 105-86, Department of Agriculture Fiscal Year 1999 Appropriations, Public Law 105-277, Department of Agriculture 2000 Appropriations, Public Law 106-78.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature:  7 CFR Part 3016, 7 CFR Part 3017, 7 CFR Part 3018.

10.574 INFO CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:  See the Food and Nutrition Service Regional Offices listed in Appendix IV of the Catalog.

Headquarters Office:  Grants Management Division, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Alexandria, VA 22302. Phone: (703) 305-2867. Contact: Mattie Jenkins, Grants Management Specialist. (Home Page)

(See Appendix IV for more contact info.)

10.574 ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:  If selected for funding State agencies will be funded at the level requested after approval of the budget. There are no matching requirements.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:  1995 Grants: July 1, 1995 - December 31, 1996; 1996 Grants: September 30, 1996 - March 31, 1998; 1997 Grants: August 31, 1997 - August 31, 1999; 1998 Grants: August 31, 1998 - August 31, 2000; 1999 grants: August 31, 1999 - August 31, 2001; 2000 Grants: September 1, 2000 - December 31, 2001.

Uses and Use Restrictions:  Team Nutrition Training Grants provide start-up money to deliver training to school and child care decision makers on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2000.

10.574 POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:  Quarterly progress and financial status reports and a final project report are to be submitted to the Food and Nutrition Service as stated in the Federal/State TN Training Grant Agreement.

Audits:  In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133, "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-profit Organizations, "State governments that receive Federal financial assistance of $300,000 or more within any fiscal year shall have either a single audit or (in certain cases) a program specific audit made for that year. Audits may be conducted less frequently under conditions specified in A-133.

Records:  State agencies must maintain records as necessary to support the use of TN Training Grants funds in accordance with the Grant Agreement. Such records must be retained for a period of 3 years after the date of submission of the final report for the fiscal year to which the records pertain, except that if audit findings have not been resolved, the records shall be retained beyond the three year period as long as required for the resolution of the issues raised by the audit.

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Last Updated, November, 2000             Comments or Questions?           ©Grant Community.com 2000, All Rights Reserved