ANSWERS

1. If my organization provides services to both rural and urban areas, can I submit an application for the The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) General Infrastructure Grant and another application for the TEFAP Rural Infrastructure Grant?

Yes, you may submit an application for both grants.  Each application must meet the requirements of the respective Request for Application (RFA) and must be submitted separately through the appropriate e-mail address (as listed in each RFA) or www.grants.gov solicitation.
 

2.  The county we serve is very large, and parts of it have characteristics of a rural area.  According to the Census website, our county is listed as a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area and is not considered rural.  Is there any way that the portion of the county with rural characteristics can be considered rural?

Due to the size and scope of this RFA, we are not able to make exceptions to the definition of rural.  In order to be awarded funding under the TEFAP Rural Infrastructure Grant, the applicant must clearly demonstrate that 75 percent of the grant budget is dedicated to grant activities or projects outside of areas designated as Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and grant activities or projects predominately serve rural communities, as defined in the TEFAP Rural Infrastructure Grant RFA. 

3.  We have been asked to certify the emergency feeding organizations (EFO) with which we have TEFAP agreements so that they can apply for the TEFAP Infrastructure Grants.  Where do we send the certification letter? 

Each applicant is responsible for submitting a letter certifying its participation in TEFAP with its completed application package.  If you are an entity that is eligible to certify other EFOs, please submit the letter to the EFO that has requested it and they will submit it as part of their application package.


 

4. Do we have to have final bids in place in order to apply for funding or can we use rough estimates and then show our planned bidding process? 

 Estimates, with a brief description of the planned bidding process, are acceptable.

5. Can we include project expenses incurred prior to the date funding is received? 

No.  Expenses that were incurred prior to the award date are not allowable. 

6. Where can I find more information on what costs are allowable?

In addition to the information provided in Appendix D of each RFA, more specific information about what costs are allowable, can be found at the Office of Management and Budget’s website,  http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_default/.  Click on the circular that is appropriate to the applicant. 

Nonprofits:  A-122
State, Local, and Tribal Governments: A-87
Educational Institutions: A-21
Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations: A-110 

General examples may be found in the Allowable Uses of Funding section of each RFA. 

7. My organization only receives TEFAP foods and administrative funds for two of the five counties we serve.  Must the proposal focus on the counties we received TEFAP administrative funding/food for or can we apply for activities throughout our service area?

As long as the applicant meets the criteria listed in the RFA, the grant request may focus on any portion of an area served or to be served by the applicant without regard to TEFAP service areas. 

8. We are considering applying for a TEFAP Infrastructure Grant.  We had an estimate prepared for our project and the cost will be about $13,000.  The minimum amount for grant funding is $50,000.  Does this mean our project is not eligible for funding?

The minimum application amount is $50,000, so this project by itself wouldn’t be eligible; however, this applicant may be able to submit an application as part of a group of eligible emergency feeding organizations.  For more information on how to apply as a group of EFOs, please see the fourth paragraph of the “Who May Apply” section of the appropriate RFA.

9.  Can we request funds to build a new building?

For the purposes of this grant, we will not fund construction of a brand new building.  The repair or expansion of existing buildings may be considered for funding. 

10.  Can we request funds for two or more different projects in the same proposal?

Yes, while applicants may only submit one application per RFA, the application may include requests for more than one type of activity or project. 

11. My organization is considering applying for a TEFAP Infrastructure grant to purchase a vehicle for my food bank.  Can the vehicle be used for non-TEFAP activities or must it only be used for TEFAP purposes?


TEFAP Infrastructure grant funds may be used for direct and indirect expenses associated with both the distribution of TEFAP foods and of foods secured from other non-Federal sources.  Foods secured from non-Federal sources included, but is not limited to, private donations, eligible recipient agency food purchases using non-USDA funds, and USDA foods redonated to TEFAP from other Federal food assistance programs. TEFAP Infrastructure grant funds cannot be used for costs associated with the distribution of USDA foods from Federal food and nutrition assistance programs other than TEFAP.

12. If we receive a TEFAP Infrastructure Grant to recover fresh produce from local farmers, would we have to track the distributed produce or collect recipient signatures like we do for TEFAP foods?

The foods recovered from local farmers would be considered foods donated from non-USDA sources.  Since they are not considered TEFAP foods, they are not subject to the same requirements as TEFAP foods.  Grant recipients will, however, be required to submit final narrative reports outlining the major accomplishments and project results and statistics or other information obtained from records of grant activities will likely be useful for this type of report.

13.  In our county, the Food Bank receives the TEFAP foods and distributes them to local food pantries.  Is the Food Bank able to apply for projects for the food pantries or only for the Food Bank?

The Food Bank may apply by itself for its own activities or it may apply as part of group of eligible EFOs (i.e., it may apply with the local food pantries).  In the case of a group application, one EFO must act as the lead EFO and would maintain fiscal and programmatic responsibility for the grant award, and would ensure that all the EFOs meet the eligibility requirements listed in the Request for Application (RFA).  If the Food Bank meets the requirements listed in the “Who May Apply” section of each RFA, it may act as the lead EFO.  Please see the fourth paragraph under the “Who May Apply” section in each RFA for more information on aggregating requests and applying as a group of EFOs.

When applying with other EFOs, one eligible organization must be chosen as the lead.  The lead organization would be fiscally and programmatically responsible for the grant activities and would be required to submit financial and final reports on behalf of the group.

 If you are not able to provide a signed copy of the certification letter electronically (i.e., a scanned copy or a copy with an electronic picture of the signatory’s signature), please indicate in your letter that the letter has been signed electronically and that an original signed copy may be obtained by fax by calling XXX-XXX-XXXX.

Yes, EFOs that have agreements with other EFOs to distribute TEFAP foods must certify those EFOs for participation in TEFAP, as described in the RFA.  If the food pantries that a food bank distributes TEFAP foods to apply for a grant, the food bank may also apply separately.  Each individual EFO may submit one application for each RFA.