The purpose of this memorandum is to distribute funding allocations out of the total $30 million provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2018, in fiscal year 2018 to state agencies to competitively award equipment assistance grants to eligible school food authorities participating in the NSLP. 

To assist states and CACFP operators with implementation of the updated CACFP meal patterns, Congress appropriated funds for the provision of noncompetitive grants for states to provide hands-on training and technical assistance. These meal service training grants will assist state agencies in providing job skills training for CACFP operators on ways to plan and prepare and serve nutritious foods.