Farm to School Grant Program

1. Farm to School Grant Program • The webinar will start soon • Make sure you are connected to the phone conference by clicking “I will call in” on the Quick Start Tab. • Enter your attendee ID when you log in • Your phone will be muted when you join in • Please type any questions in the chat box

2. Technical Assistance How Can I Get Technical Assistance for Applying in the Grants Gateway? • For technical assistance and information about Grants Gateway and Prequalification • Go to: www.grantsreform.ny.gov/Grantees • Email: GrantsReform@its.ny.gov • Call: (518) 474-5595 • Other Grants Gateway training webinars: http://grantsreform.ny.gov/training-calendar

3. Registration • All entities that wish to apply for grants in NY State must be registered in the Grants Gateway. • This process includes filling out and mailing a signed and notarized registration form. • Information about registration can be found on the Grants Reform website or in the Grant Opportunity Portal.

4. Prequalification • All non-profit organizations applying for grants in NY State must be prequalified in the Grants Gateway prior to submitting their grant applications. • For the Farm to School Grant Opportunity, you must be prequalified by the submission due date and time (October 5, 2016 at 4:30 pm) • Refer to the Grants Reform website for prequalification information.

5. System Roles • The “Grantee Delegated Administrator” can add new accounts and work on the Document Vault, but can’t work on grant applications. • At the very least, your organization is required to have a user in the role of “Grantee Contract Signatory” who can start, edit, and submit the grant application. NOTE: The “Grantee System Administrator” can also perform these duties. • A user in the role of “Grantee” can also start and edit the application, but can’t submit the application. • It is acceptable for one person to have multiple roles and thus multiple accounts; you can use the same email address and same password, but the user needs a new account for each role.

6. New York State Farm to School Grants Program Submitting a Proposal

7. Basic parameters • Proposals due on October 5, 2016 by 4:30 pm • Proposals must be submitted through the Grants Gateway • Hardcopy of proposal on our website is for reference only • Applicants must register with Grants Gateway to submit a proposal • Not-for-Profit entities must pre-qualify before submitting a proposal • Do not wait until the last minute. Late proposals cannot be accepted.

8. Financial • Total Fund of $500,000. • Proposals must request between $25,000 and $100,000 for a maximum of 2 years. • No match required. • Equipment allowed if it is specifically related to the utilization of specialty crops.

9. Eligibility • Schools and school districts • Private schools • Charter schools • Not for Profit organizations prequalified http://grantsreform.ny.gov/ go to the Grantees section

10. Reasons for Disqualification • Applicant not eligible • Incomplete application • Expenses not eligible

11. Timetable • Proposals due Wednesday October 5, 2016 at 4:30 • Questions due by Friday September 23, 2016 at 4:30 • Questions posted by Wednesday September 28, 2016. • All questions about this RFP must be submitted in writing (fax or e-mail will be accepted) to:   Meg McCabe NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets 10B Airline Drive Albany, NY 12235 Fax: (518) 457-2716 E-mail: meg.mccabe@agriculture.ny.gov

12. Timetable (continued) • Announcement of Grant Recipients in mid November • Execution of contracts in January of 2017

13. Evaluation Factors • All eligible proposals will be competitively rated by a panel designated by the Department. A total of one hundred (100) points can be achieved from the following criteria. The evaluation panel shall consider the following factors in rating proposals:

14. Reasonableness of Costs • Are the proposed costs commensurate with the tasks to be performed and deliverables specified. (20 points)

15. Project Description • How well has the need of the school(s) or school districts been articulated? (This should include quantitative data on the percentage and number of free and reduced lunches provided by the school/district.) • How well has the positive impact on New York State farmers and students been delineated? (20 points)

16. Quantification of Project Benefits • Projected pounds of locally produced specialty crops to be procured per school during the school year • Projected number of New York producers participating in the project • Number of students served a school lunch and/or breakfast each school day (including free and reduced) • Projected increase in awareness of specialty crops by students • Projected number of producers, distributors and food hubs supplying locally produced farm products to schools • Projected increase in the varieties of locally produced farm products included in school meals programs (20 points)

17. Personnel • Do the key persons involved in the project have the requisite experience in operating a farm to school program, participating in school wellness committees, procuring locally produced farm products, fostering community partnerships and conducting outreach to local producers. (10 points)

18. Plan of Work • How well defined is the plan of work? Is the project feasible and sustainable during and after the grant? Have the short term and long term targets been defined along with specific benchmarks? (20 points)

19. Outside Support • Does the project have adequate support from the school/school district, community partners and farmers? Are the community partners and farmers specified? (10 points)

20. Work PlanStructure • There is one Objective for your proposal: Toincrease the volume and variety of local specialty crops procured by schools/districts for inclusion in school meals programs.

21. Some Possible Tasks to Meet Objective • Employ a local or regional farm to school coordinator. • Conduct trainings for school procurement and fiscal staff to increase local procurement of specialty crops. • Conduct trainings for food service staff to increase knowledge preparation of locally produced specialty crops. • Purchase the equipment needed to increase capacity of school kitchen and food service staff to prepare and serve local produced specialty crops. Equipment purchases must follow guidelines for the USDA Specialty Crops Block Grant Program, (link to guidelines) • Implement capital improvements  to support the processing, transport and/or storage of locally produced specialty crops. • Implement a meal program featuring locally produced specialty crops at regular intervals in the school meal program menu. • Work with other school districts to implement a coordinated local buying program with or without the assistance of distributor or other aggregating entity such as a food hub.

22. Performance Measures • Performance Measures are related to the tasks. Each task must have at least on “performance measure” • An example: a Task might be to conduct training for school procurement and fiscal staff to increase procurement of local specialty crops. • The Performance Measures associated with that task could be: • The development of a curriculum • The enlistment of trainer • Conducting multiple training sessions • Evaluating the effectiveness of the training sessions.

23. Work PlanOverview • Two sections • Work Plan Summary In this section you will detail the one Objective, your Tasks and the Performance Measures associated with those Tasks. • Work Plan Detail In this section you will enter the specified Objective and enter TBD for the Task and Performance Measures.

24. Geographic Distribution • After completing the above evaluation utilizing the Application Form and criteria set forth in it, an award up to a total of five (5) additional points per application may be given to help achieve geographic diversity for the Farm to School Program.

25. Reporting • Weekly Updates • Quarterly Reports Narrative and Claim for Payment form • Final Report • 25 percent optional advance upon execution of contract • Withholding of 10 percent until submission of final report

26. Questions • Thank you!