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Food and Nutrition Programs

FY 2027 FC0722 School Nutrition Equipment Assistance for Schools Questions and Answers

  1. Is there a way to know if one of our school's has received this grant since FY2017? This would help us prepare our application accordingly.

    LEAs are responsible for keeping their own grant award and financial records.

    DESE cannot provide individual assistance on grant proposal questions to LEAs applying for a competitive grant proposal. All questions need to be submitted to NutritionEquipmentGrant@mass.gov and will be answered on this Q&A page. To keep the competition fair, we are prohibited from answering questions via individual email or phone.

    Download the Equipment Grant Tips and General Navigation for information in GEM$ on the grant page. Also see the hover text over the short answer questions for specific instructions.

    The LEA's grant writer should be working as a partner with the school nutrition director to submit a well-informed grant proposal to School Nutrition.

  2. I would love to apply for my school district — do I need to create a GEM login?

    To date, most schools and school districts in Massachusetts have a primary GEM$ log in. Check with your school or district's administrative/grants office to confirm that the district has GEM$ access as well as a "LEA User Access Administrator." To gain direct access to the FY26 School Nutrition Equipment Assistance for Schools application in GEM$, request that your district's LEA User Access Administrator creates user access for you and assigns you to the GEM$ role of "LEA Grantwriter."

    For more guidance on GEM$ access and user roles, please visit GEM$ and navigate to "DESE Resources" on the left side navigation bar > GEM$ LEA User Roles - Guidance and Forms. Once access to GEM$ is obtained download the Equipment Grant Tips and General Navigation for information on the grant page.

  3. How is a school/ site-based grant application different from a district level application in GEM$?

    The School Nutrition Equipment Grant is a school/site-based competitive grant rather than a district level grant. In pre-GEM$ days each school/site submitted their own entire grant application.

    Since USDA requires the equipment to be used only in the school that is awarded the grant, and we have limited funding from USDA, only the most competitive school applications will receive awards through their districts.

    In GEM$, we require LEAs to submit a district level required program information and create school/site-based grant applications for each school applying for equipment. Most of the information is collected on the site/school grant level information sections.

  4. I am having some difficulty with the School Nutrition Equipment grant in GEM$. Is there a narrative I should be uploading? Also, are you not using the budget input component, and instead, I just upload our budget?

    Each school/site grant application asks for detailed information about the school applying. There are a series of questions that need to be answered from the school's perspective including 5 narrative questions. All questions are answered in GEM$. You may want to answer them in a word document first then copy and paste in your answers into the appropriate question in GEM$.

    The budget is also entered into GEM$ on the site/school grant applications level. GEM$ "rolls up" the site-based budgets into a district budget.

    The (24 page) Equipment Grant Tips and General Navigation provides more information on the grant. The Office of Food and Nutrition Programs sent a grant availability announcement email to school nutrition directors and business managers with the document attached. You can also download the document within the grant in GEM$.

    The LEA's grant writer should be working as a partner with the school nutrition director to submit a well-informed grant proposal to School Nutrition.

  5. Is this a grant that is awarded up front, or awarded via reimbursements?

    Any grant awards from this grant must be spent on the equipment awarded after a district receives an award notification. No grant funds can be used for prior purchases.

    Grantees would purchase their equipment upon award then request reimbursement through GEM$.

  6. I see you can add delivery and installation as part of your equipment price, does that include the plumbing and/or electrical upgrades we need to do to install a piece in our school?

    Unfortunately, the grant cannot pay for the plumbing and electrical work needed (such as an upgrade) in the school to install equipment. For example, the quote for the equipment can include the delivery of a new steamer and the necessary work to install it in the kitchen so it can be used by staff. Please check your building's (i.e. space, electrical or plumbing) capacity to operate any equipment prior to applying for the grant.

  7. If our quote is from a state contract, do we still need to provide two additional quotes in the grant proposal?

    Yes usually. Calling a vendor who has already negotiated a price for your piece of equipment through a state contract does not guarantee they will provide the lowest price in a quote. Either provide the quotes from the other vendors that did not provide the lowest quote for the make and model you requested or proof that you used the state's combuys system to identify the pre-negotiated price for the make and model you are requesting from a vendor. Just calling a vendor who has a state contract does not guarantee you will receive the pre-negotiated price on the state contract.

  8. Can we apply after the deadline or receive an extension?

    Unfortunately, no. Per DESE grants requirements all competitive grant submissions are mandated to adhere to the deadlines in the RFP. If a grant has not been submitted and approved through all three stages of approval (grant writer, fiscal representative and the Superintendent) in GEM$ by 5:00 pm on Friday, November13, 2026, it will not be accepted.

  9. I was wondering if the Equipment Grant can be used for our nutrition and menu planning software?

    Unfortunately, no. Per the RFP software does not meet the fund use requirements of the grant.

  10. Just a request — can DESE provide some sort of training on the GEMS platform — that would be very helpful?

    The GEM$ website does have resources on their home page for districts. The Equipment Grant Tips and General Navigation document is 27 pages long and gives step by step guidance. That document will be emailed with the announcement. It is also located within the GEM$ grant opportunity.

Last Updated: October 16, 2026

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