FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
AUTHORIZATION:
National School Lunch Act, Section 6(a)(3) Agriculture,
Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act of 1996; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1997, Public Law
104-280; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1998, Public Law 105-86; Agriculture,
Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act of 1999, Public Law 105-277; Agriculture, Rural
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations
Act of 2000, Public Law 106-78; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2001, Public Law
106-387. Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2002, Public Law 107-76.
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 based on one or more of TN's
three behavior-oriented strategies: 1) providing training and technical
assistance for Child Nutrition food service professionals to help them serve
meals that look good, taste good and meet nutrition standards; 2) providing
multifaceted, integrated nutrition education for children and their parents.
This education will build skills and motivation for children to make healthy
food and physical activity choices as part of a healthy lifestyle; and 3)
providing support for healthy eating and physical activity by involving school
and child care administrators and other school and community partners. States
are encouraged to implement these behavior-oriented strategies through one or
more of the six communication channels. These include: 1) food service
initiatives; 2) classroom activities; 3) school-wide events; 4) home
activities; 5) community programs and events; and 6) media events and
coverage. These channels offer a comprehensive network for delivering
consistent nutrition messages to children and their caretakers which will
educate them about the importance of healthy eating and reinforce the messages
through a variety of sources.
TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:
Project Grants. Place Cursor Here for Definition
USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:
Team Nutrition Training Grants provide start-up money to deliver training
programs based on one or more of TN's three behavior-oriented strategies.
States may award sub-grants to local school districts and/or schools based on
2 pm established criteria oversight procedures.
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 and caregivers, school child care 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, specific program objectives, activities and budget. A
properly executed Federal/State Agreement between the Food and Nutrition
Service and the State agency is necessary before funds can be allocated.
Pre-application Coordination: State agencies are
furnished with a copy of the Request for Applications (RFA) package on how to
apply for a TN Training Grant. Additionally the complete RFA is posted on the
FNS web site. 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 RFA's packaged. Grants are
awarded by a competitive process via a review panel composed of Food and
Nutrition Service staff which convenes to determine the technical merit of
each grant application, provide a numerical score and make final
recommendations.
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 approximately 3 months
before announcement of the TN Training Grant awards.
Appeals: None.
Renewals: Fiscal Year 2002 TN Training Grants
have been mandated by Congress.
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: 1999
Grants: August 31, 1999 - August 31, 2001; 2000 Grants: September 1, 2000 -
December 31, 2001; 2001 Grants: September 2001 - September 30, 2003; 2002
Grants: September 1, 2002 - September 30, 2004.
POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports: Specified 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 Nonprofit
Organizations," State governments that expend 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 Grant 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.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION:
Account Identification: 12-3539-0-1-605.
Obligations: (Grants) FY 01 $4,751,789; FY 02 est
$4,000,000; and FY 03 est $4,000,000.
Range and Average of Financial Assistance:
$78,541 to $200,000; Average: $189,631.
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 2001, 36 applications
were received and 24 State agencies were selected for funding totaling
$4,551,143.
REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:
7 CFR Part 3016, 7 CFR Part 3017, 7 CFR Part 3018.
INFORMATION 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. Telephone: (703) 305-2867. Contact: Mattie Jenkins, Grants Management
Specialist.
Web Site Address: http://www.fns.usda.gov.
EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:
The 1998 and 1999 TN Training Grants produced 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 two-year funding to help FNS develop
models of firmly established TN initiatives that will be appealing and helpful
to States across the country. The 2000 grantees were awarded one-year funding
to provide training to school and child care decision makers on The Dietary
Guidelines for Americans 2000. The 2001 grantees were recently awarded funding
to focus all or part of the two- year grant on improving the school nutrition
environment, using USDA's resource kit, "Changing the Scene: Improving
the School Nutrition Environment: A Guide to Local Action." The 2002
Grants will be two-year grants and will allow states to continue to implement
the three team nutrition strategies and to continue efforts to improve the
school nutrition environment.
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.
