Description
Program Description: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), authorized under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (Insert legislative citation for the FNA), as amended, is the cornerstone of the Nation’s nutrition assistance safety net. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) certifies low-income Americans to participate in the program and authorizes and monitors retailers to accept SNAP benefits for eligible food products. Currently, around 40 million low-income Americans receive SNAP benefits, and more than 250,000 retailers are authorized to accept SNAP benefits. Legislative Authority: Section 4208 of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, P.L. 115-334, (“Farm Bill”) authorizes USDA, on a competitive basis, to enter cooperative agreements with governmental entities or nonprofit organizations to carry out Healthy Fluid Milk Incentives (HFMI) projects. The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, [P. L. 118-42 provides $2,583,428 for HFMI for fiscal year (FY) 2024. FNS announces, through this Request for Applications (RFA), the availability of $2,583,428 in total grant funding to award one cooperative agreement. Eligible entities who can submit applications include government agencies (State, local, territory, or tribal agencies) and non-profit organizations. Key Requirement for FY 2024 Applicants: FNS is limiting proposals to project designs that will either 1.) Deliver HFMI incentives as an automatic discount at the point of purchase or 2) Through integration with State Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) systems to automatically deposit earned HFMI incentives onto SNAP households EBT cards (See Project Design on page 12 and in the scoring criteria on page 35 of the RFA). Purpose and Key Objectives: The primary purpose of the HFMI project is to develop and test methods to increase the purchase and consumption of qualifying fluid milk by SNAP households by providing them an incentive at the point of purchase at authorized retailer locations. “Qualifying fluid milk” includes all varieties of pasteurized cow’s milk that (1) is without flavoring or sweeteners, (2) is consistent with the most recent dietary recommendations, (3) is packaged in liquid form, and (4) contains vitamins A and D at levels consistent with the Food and Drug Administration, State, and local standards for fluid milk.