School Breakfast Program Expansion-State Agencies and the District of Columbia | USDA FNS CN SBPE SA FY23

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FNS CN SBPE SA FY23

The School Breakfast Program Expansion grant opportunity is a competitive funding announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), created under Section 23 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1793) and updated through Section 105 of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-296). The overall goal is straightforward: increase access to the School Breakfast Program (SBP) by helping state administering agencies push resources down to school districts and schools that need breakfast service the most.

For FY 2023, USDA FNS set aside a total of $6 million for awards to state agencies in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. This funding is discretionary and will be awarded as grants, with an expected total of three awards. The maximum (ceiling) amount listed for an individual award is $2,000,000, meaning a single state agency could potentially receive up to that amount depending on the competitiveness of its application and the federal selection decisions.

A key feature of this opportunity is that state agencies do not use these funds primarily for their own direct operations; instead, they are expected to issue subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs), such as school districts. Those subgrants are capped at $10,000 per qualifying school, or per group of qualifying schools, per school year. The intent is to provide targeted, practical dollars that can help an LEA establish a breakfast program where one does not exist, keep an existing program running more effectively, or expand breakfast service so it reaches more students.

Eligibility at the school level is tightly defined. The subgrants are meant for "qualifying schools," which the statute defines as schools in severe need. In practice, that means the school either already operates SBP or wants to start SBP, and at least 40 percent of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) lunches served at that school are served free or at a reduced price. This threshold is used as a proxy for high economic need and ensures the expansion money is directed toward campuses serving large numbers of low-income students.

The program being expanded, SBP, is a long-standing federally assisted child nutrition program created in 1966. Like NSLP, it operates through categorical assistance to help schools and certain institutions provide meals that meet federal nutrition requirements to children considered nutritionally needy. SBP typically functions in parallel with NSLP in terms of how participation and reimbursement systems work, but this particular grant is focused specifically on growing breakfast access and participation, rather than routine meal reimbursements.

This is described as a new request for applications (RFA) and a FY 2023 opportunity, published on April 24, 2023, with an original application closing date of July 24, 2023. The opportunity is cataloged under CFDA number 10.579 and appears in Grants.gov under the funding opportunity number USDA FNS CN SBPE SA FY23. While the main eligible applicants are state governments, the eligibility field also notes "Others" with a reference to additional eligibility details in the full announcement.

Finally, the scope is limited to U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Agencies representing U.S. Territories are explicitly told not to apply under this RFA; instead, they must apply under a separate, territory-specific announcement titled "Child Nutrition School Breakfast Program Expansion Grant for U.S. Territories" available on Grants.gov.

• The Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service in the food and nutrition sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "School Breakfast Program Expansion-State Agencies and the District of Columbia" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.579.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 24, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 24, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for USDA FNS CN SBPE SA FY23

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