FY 2024 MA FRESH Questions and Answers

Are food security non-profits eligible to apply for the FY24 MA FRESH Grant?

No. Eligible MA FRESH applicants include early childhood programs that offer meals through the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program (CACFP) and K–12 schools that offer meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Food security non-profits may serve as external collaborators and contractors to eligible MA FRESH applicants if outlined in the application and project workplan.
Is it possible to use MA FRESH funding in conjunction with the Northeast Food for Schools funding program to develop my Farm to School Initiative?

Yes. School districts that have been award Northeast Food for Schools funding are also eligible to apply for MA FRESH. Unlike Northeast Food for Schools, MA FRESH funding cannot be utilized to purchase unprocessed or minimally processed local foods that will be served as a component of a reimbursable meals.
I'm applying for the MA Fresh grant and I'm confused on the budget. Is it for the month or for the year?

FY24 MA FRESH applicants should use the Budget Template provided in the RFP to provide a full budget for the planned duration of the project. Projects may last up to 18 months.

If you are planning to conduct project activities after June 30, 2024, you will need to fill out the two provided tabs of the Budget Template separately for each fiscal year (Fiscal year 1: through June 30, 2024 and fiscal year two: July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025) to encompass all activities.
Would a Massachusetts Vocational Technical High School (9–12) be eligible for a MA FRESH grant?

All National School Lunch (NSLP) sponsors are eligible to apply for FY24 MA FRESH. For more information on your school's Child Nutrition Program sponsorship status, please reach out to the School Food Service Director (whose signature is required for the submission of a FY24 MA FRESH application).
I live in a district that has been wanting to get farm to school but I am not sure if they are eligible. They have early childhood education in the elementary school and also offer free meals for all.

All sponsors of a National School Lunch Program (NSLP) — which offer free school meals in Massachusetts due to the state legislature's passing of permanent universal free school meals — are eligible to apply for the FY24 MA FRESH grant. Regardless of whether an early childhood education program is present within a public elementary school, a public school is eligible to apply for FY24 MA FRESH funding. If an applicant is specifically interested in applying to fund an Early Education Farm to School Initiative, the applicant must serve an early education population and be either an NSLP sponsor (an example might be a public elementary school with a Pre-K program) or Child and Adult Care Food Program sponsor (an example might be a YMCA Childcare Program).
We are a 6–12 charter school that operates the NSLP and SBP. Do we still qualify for this grant as we are not K–12?

Yes. All sponsors of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) — which may include public schools as well as some charter, private and residential facilities — are eligible to apply for the FY24 MA FRESH grant. Your institution does not need to serve the entire range of K–12 learners to apply.
We have a Farm to School Coordinator. Can we leverage this funding to pay for their salary?

Grant awards may not be used to fund existing activities, projects or staff positions. Funds can only be used to fund new staff time or salaries as a result of new or expanded initiatives.
Are letters of support from external partners who are not contracted (ex: from my state legislator) advantageous to my grant application?

Applicants, excluding CACFP applicants who are applying through the abbreviated application process, are encouraged to include letters of support in their submission that complement their application by providing context, illustrating stakeholder support of the applicant's proposal or demonstrating informal or contracted plans for partnership. Applicants should plan to provide a letter of support for all contracted external collaborators outlined in the project.
Is a letter of support required if we are planning to use goods purchases from a specific entity for the grant, but this entity is not directly participating in grant activities/coming to the classroom?

Letters of support are needed from external collaborators who will conduct a scope of work for the applicant that you are seeking to fund through MA FRESH grant funds. A letter of support is not required from a vendor from whom you only plan to purchase goods. That said, any letter of support that complements an application by providing context, illustrating stakeholder support of the applicant's proposal or demonstrating informal plans for partnership are welcome (though not required) in your application submission.
What entity is typically an external partner on a MA FRESH grant?

As outlined in the FY24 MA FRESH Part III — Required Program Information application section, an external partner may be a non-profit organization, food producer or another external collaborator who supports the applicant's proposed project or workplan. There are no "typical" external partners as external partners are influenced by the applicant's proposed project. For some examples of past external partners that collaborated with MA FRESH awardees, please check out the FY23 Awardee Overview report developed by Mass Farm to School.
Can current recipients of MA FRESH FY24 Continuation funding apply?

As stated in the RFP, "MA FRESH applicants may or may not have received MA FRESH grant funding in the past." However, please note that covering costs to continue existing activities or covering costs for existing labor are unallowable. The application must reflect a new project and budget that seeks to expand Farm to School program capacity.

The FY24 MA FRESH Competitive grant process is separate from the FY24 MA FRESH Continuation funding that a grantee may have already been awarded to spend through June 30, 2024.

In the event that a FY24 MA FRESH Continuation awardee is also awarded funding through the FY24 MA FRESH Competitive grant process — which can cover expenses through June 30, 2025 — the awardee would be responsible for managing two separate grant budgets and grant processes simultaneously until the FY24 MA FRESH Continuation grant is closed.
Are gift cards — utilized to stipend student engagement — an eligible expense for the FY24 MA FRESH grant?

Gift cards are not an allowable expense for the FY24 MA FRESH grant.
My project seeks to fund curriculum development for school year 2024-2025. The work would not start until Summer 2024. Can I submit just one budget tab for fiscal year two (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025) since I have no plans for spending before June 30, 2024?

Applicants of the FY24 MA FRESH grant must have spending plans demonstrated in their budget that begin in the FY24 fiscal year (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024). If an applicant is only seeking funding for the 2024-2025 school year, they should plan to submit an application to a future MA FRESH grant cycle. Please note: at this time, future MA FRESH grant cycles are still pending as funding has not been secured.
I work for an association that oversees a number of federally funded community action agencies across the state. I know that a subset of our agencies would be eligible for MA FRESH funding through their participation in the CACFP for their HeadStart or early ed programming. May the association apply on behalf of our qualifying agencies for this funding? Or would each agency need to apply on their own?

The association is not eligible to apply. While the association is welcome to provide grant support to the community action agencies they support, the entity applying must be the CACFP sponsor.
My organization is not a K–12 school but, in the summer, we partner with the state to offer free summer meals to children. Is our organization eligible to apply for FY24 MA FRESH?

Unfortunately, Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sponsors who are not also a National School Lunch Program (NSLP) sponsor or Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) sponsor are not eligible to apply for the MA FRESH grant.
If you do not apply for MA FRESH this year, will you be able to apply at a later date?

At this time, future funding has not been secured.
Our district has built two school gardens in the last 9 months with the help of community support and labor. However, prior to these efforts, we have had no engagement in Farm to School. Would our district qualify as a "new" or "expanding" applicant?

A project would qualify as a "New K–12 Farm to School Initiative" if the applying entity in the last three years (up to the time of application) is engaged in none or only one of the Farm to School three C's: Classroom (including in School Gardens), Cafeteria and Community. If the applicant has engaged in two or more of the Farm to School three C's, but this activity has been dormant for the last three years or more (up to the time of application), the applicant would also qualify as a "New K–12 Farm to School Initiative."

An applicant would qualify as an "Expanding Current K–12 Farm to School Initiative" if the applying entity, within the last three years (up to the time of application), is engaged in two or more of the Farm to School three C's: Classroom (including in School Gardens), Cafeteria and Community.
Are licensed Family Childcare Home Providers eligible to apply for FY24 MA FRESH? Are licensed Child Care Centers eligible to apply for FY24 MA FRESH?

Individual Family Child Care Home Providers are not eligible to apply. Any CACFP Family Child Care Sponsoring Organization and/or any CACFP Sponsor of licensed Child Care Center(s) approved to operate in Massachusetts is eligible to apply. The Sponsor or Sponsoring Organization is the business/school/non-profit organization that enters into an agreement with DESE to operate the CACFP. A list of Sponsoring Organizations . These Family Day Care Sponsoring Organizations are eligible to apply on behalf of one family childcare provider or a collection/network of family childcare providers for whom they provide CACFP sponsorship to.
Is an eligible NSLP sponsor able to apply twice, once for its early education program and once for its public charter school?

Sponsors are eligible to submit one application. If there are multiple sites under your NSLP or CACFP agreement, then your project proposal and funding request should be inclusive of all programming you hope to accomplish across all sites you are applying for. You are not able to submit two grant applications under the same sponsorship.
Is the funding level of the grant per sponsor or per site? For example: if a sponsor with multiple sites wanted to bring farm to school programming to two sites, could the sponsor be eligible for two $25,000 grants or would the $25,000 need to be split among two locations?

Funding level of the grant is per sponsorship. Applicants may apply on behalf of one site, a collection of sites or all sites under a sponsorship. Regardless of the number of sites the applicant is applying for, the total amount of funds that could be awarded is up to $50,000 (if apply in the "Expanding Current Early Education Farm to School Initiative" grant category).
We have multiple sites in our sponsorship and last year one site was awarded funding. This year we would like to apply for funding for a new site in our sponsorship. Would we apply as a "New Early Education Farm to School Initiative" grant or as a "Expanding Current Early Education Farm to School Initiative" grant?

The funding category under which an applicant should apply is determined by the identity of the applicant as self-described in the Part III Required Program Information portion of the application. The applicant has the opportunity to identify with one of the two applicant descriptions: (a) "individual school/early education program or collection of specific sites within a district or early education sponsorship" or (b) "entire school district/early education sponsorship with multiple facilities."

In this case, if you are applying as an "individual early education program or collection of specific early education sites in a sponsorship" and this individual early education program has participated in none or only one of the Farm to School 3 Cs (Classroom, Cafeteria, Community), than the applicant will qualify as a "New Early Education Farm to School Initiative" grant. If you are applying as "an entire early education sponsorship" and your sponsorship has experience engaging with two or more of the Farm to School 3 Cs (Classroom, Cafeteria, Community), even if this is not the case at every site, it would be more appropriate for you to apply as na "Expanding Current Early Education Farm to School Initiative" grant.
Can MA FRESH funds be used to procure local fruits and vegetables from a local farm share?

MA FRESH funds may not be used to procure local fruits and vegetables if they will be served as part of reimbursable meal service (breakfast, lunch, snack, supper) as part of the National School Lunch Program or Child and Adult Care Food Program. MA FRESH funds may be used to procure local fruits and vegetables from a local farm share if this food will be used for supplementary programming purposes such as a cooking class, food literacy curriculum, or a taste test program.
I have already submitted my application but would like to make a change and re-submit. Will this be possible?

Applicants can make changes to their application and re-submit until the grant deadline of Friday, November 17^th at 5:00 PM. Please notifying grant contact Maggie Nowak if you are providing a re-submission to ensure the appropriate application version is considered during the review process.
Are aeroponic gardens or grow towers an eligible expense for the FY24 MA FRESH grant?

Yes. Grant funds may be used to purchase aeroponic, hydroponic or other indoor garden systems.
Are refrigerated vehicles used to transport food an eligible expense for the FY24 MA FRESH grant?

Yes. Grant funds may be used to purchase a refrigerated vehicle used to transport food. However, as a reminder, strong applications will have project proposals and budget requests that directly related to the grant priorities, particularly: building new or expanding current capacity to grow or procure locally grown and produced ingredients, educating students, staff, teachers and food service professionals about the food system and connecting food system education to the availability of nutritious, locally sourced meals made from unprocessed or minimally processed ingredients and served at schools or early education meal programs.
Will the slides reviewed during the CACFP and NSLP grant information sessions as well as a recording of these presentations be made available?

Yes: MA FRESH Overview for Early Education CACFP Programs hosted on 10/5/2023 and MA FRESH Overview for K-12 NSLP Programs hosted on 10/13/2023 are both linked as well as available on the Mass Farm to School MA FRESH landing page.
Because this opportunity offers possible funding through FY25, would the funding period and required reporting be for the grant period through FY25 (only one reporting/spend down period at the end of FY25) or through the end of FY24 with an additional reporting/spend down period at the end of FY25? Additionally, if awarded funds are not spent down in Year 1 and we have an award amount for Year 2, would unspent funds be eligible for amendment and carry over from Year 1 to Year 2?

The funding period for FY24 MA FRESH 710 is separated between two fiscal years to accommodate projects with timelines extending through June 30, 2025. This means that there are two reporting processes and two spend downs — one for a FY2024 budget (until June 30, 2024) and another for a FY2025 budget (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025).

In most cases, if awards are not spent down in FY2024 they will not be eligible for amendment and carry over from FY2024 to FY2025. For this reason, applicants should develop and submit budgets that accurately distinguish proposed spending in each fiscal year through separate tabs on the FY24 MA FRESH Budget Template .
I have a technical question regarding the FY24 MA FRESH Budget Template . In the template, the cells in the "Comments" section (Column AA) turn red whether a comment is entered or left blank on any line in which a dollar amount has been entered in the "Total Amount" section (Column P). Is the red highlight an indication of an error that should be addressed?

On some sections of the budget, the Comments section (Column AA) will turn red to prompt applicants to include an explanation. This section will remain red even after an applicant adds a comment to ensure that DESE grant review staff read this comment and confirm that the requested expense is allowable during the application review process. The red highlight is not an indication of an error that should be addressed.
In the application, Part I — General — Program Unit Signature Page has a project duration of "From: Upon Approval through To: 6/30/2024." I am planning project activities and have a budget request through June 30, 2025. How should I complete the signature page?

Part I Program Unit Signature Page should reflect the requested spending only for FY24 (even if you are also requesting funding for FY25). As a check, the "Amount Requested" in Part I should reflect the same requested value found on the Part II Budget Details Excel on the first tab labelled Budget FY2024. If awarded and applicable, grantees will fill out a separate Part I Program Unit Signature Page for FY25 requested funding at a later date in the grant process.
In the Budget/Budget Narrative, should applicants itemize each line with specific items/quantities (i.e. 8 cutting boards, 8 sets of child-safe knives, etc.), or can the funding request be generalized (i.e. classroom cooking supplies)?

FY24 MA FRESH applicants are encouraged to include as much detail as possible in the budget/budget narrative, however a fully itemized list of materials with specific items/quantities is not required. Please note that the word maximum for the Budget Narrative required in Part III — Required Program Information is 150 words.

Last Updated: November 8, 2023