Comment Request - Uniform Grant Application for Non-Entitlement Discretionary Grants

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has a number of non-entitlement discretionary grant programs to collect the information from grant applicants needed to evaluate and rank applicants and protect the integrity of the grantee selection process.

All FNS discretionary grant programs will be eligible, but not required to use the uniform grant application package. The authorities for these grants vary. The term “grant” in this submission refers only to non-entitlement discretionary competitive and non-competitive grants or cooperative agreements. Discretionary grant announcements include a number of information collections, including the submission of associated state plan information and the use of program-specific forms, including but not limited to, Form FNS-887 Farm to School Coversheet, the Farm to School Baseline Report, and the Farm to School Final Report; a “project description” (program narrative), budget information SF-425, disclosure of lobbying activities certification SF-LLL, and disclosure of Corporate Felony Convictions and Corporate Federal Tax Delinquencies.

The requirements for the program narrative statement are based on the requirements for program narrative statements described in section 1.c (5) of OMB Circular A-102 and OMB A-110 (as implemented at USDA 7 CFR part 3015, 3016 and 3019); and will apply to all types of grantees; State and local governments, non-profit organizations, institutions of higher education, hospitals, and for-profit organizations.

If FNS decides to use the uniform grant application package, FNS will note in the grant solicitation that applicants must use the uniform grant application package and that the information collection has already been approved by OMB. If FNS decides not to use the uniform grant application package or determines that it needs grant applicants to provide additional information not contained in the uniform package, then FNS will publish at least a 30 day notice soliciting comments on its proposal to collect different or additional information before making the grant solicitation, if not already discussed in previously published notices.

Through this Federal Register Notice, FNS is notifying the public of additional grants and forms added to this Information Collection Request (ICR) since the associated 60-day FR Notice was published on (April 19, 2022) at (87 FR 23160). The additional grants and total burden hours for each one added to this ICR since the 60-day FR Notice include the following:

1. Center for Food Safety Research in Child Nutrition grant, 260
2. Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children—Breastfeeding, 820
3. Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children—Special Projects, 726
4. SNAP Income Improvements and Verification Grant, 882
5. Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children—Technology grants, 6678
6. Institute of Child Nutrition Annual Food Safety Cooperative Agreement (SNAS Office of Food Safety), 70
7. Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children—WIC online shopping Technical Assistance and sub-grantees, 1328
8. Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children—Community innovation and outreach grant and subgrantees, 3680
9. SNAP E&T National Partnership Grants, 882
10. Healthy Meals Incentives 19,951.