Breakfast and Summer Grant Instructions

Instructions for Completing California’s 2020–21 School Breakfast Program and Summer Meal Programs Start-up and Expansion Grant Application

School food authorities (SFA) can submit the 2020–21 School Breakfast Program (SBP) and Summer Meal Programs (SMP) Start-up and Expansion Grant, known as the Breakfast Grant (BG), application found online on the California Department of Education (CDE) BG Request for Applications (RFA) web page. Complete the application and have the appropriate agency official electronically sign and submit it. The CDE must receive your SFA’s online submission no later than 4 p.m. on Monday, March 2, 2020. No late or mailed applications will be accepted.

The CDE will award competitive grants of up to $15,000 per site. Each SFA may apply for no more than 10 sites. Recipients will receive 90 percent of the funding at the time of award with the remaining 10 percent awarded upon approval of all invoices.

Steps to apply for the 2020–21 BG:

• Carefully review the Application Scoring Criteria on the CDE BG web page.
• Read the Instructions for Completing the BG Application (this document).
• Complete and submit the online Grant Application no later than 4 p.m. on Monday, March 2, 2020.

Request for Applications

School Food Authority Information

Note: You will need to select the Save Responses button on each page of the RFA to save the application. Once you select the Save Responses button you will receive an email with a unique URL (web address) for entrance back into the application. It is recommended that you copy the URL on the application page and save it in case you do not receive the confirmation email. This address will allow you to return to your place in the survey at any time if the Save Responses button was selected prior to exiting.

Site Information

Complete this section for each site for which you are applying for grant funds. You may save your responses at any time by selecting the Save Responses button.

Use of Grant Funds

The CDE will authorize purchases for allowable costs as long as SFAs dedicate their use exclusively to food service and the equipment serves to assist in the start-up or expansion of an SBP or SMP. Conversely, any equipment that will be used by another program and not operated exclusively by food service, and will not assist in the start-up or expansion of an SBP or SMP, is not an allowable expense. For example, if the SFA purchases a vehicle that will be used by food service to transport food items or meals, but it is also used for nonfood service activities, the cost of the vehicle is not an allowable purchase with these grant funds.

The CDE will not pay SFAs for services or equipment without a copy of the vendor’s invoice or receipt. An invoice has a unique invoice number on it and is signed by an SFA representative per their procurement policies. Purchase orders and packing lists may not be used in lieu of invoices or receipts.

SFAs must incur all allowable expenses within the designated grant period. The official grant period is included on the signed grant award notice.

SFAs must follow all state and local procurement standards.

Allowable Costs

Allowable costs are nonrecurring expenses used when starting up or expanding an SBP or SMP and include:

• Food service equipment purchases for program start-up or expansion; for example, an SFA may use awarded funds to upgrade its stove if the current stove is too small to adequately heat food or meals to serve its students.
• Supplies or equipment needed to offer fresh fruits and vegetables or meet the requirements of the U.S. Department of Agriculture school meal pattern; for example, fruit bars, smoothie machines, blenders, fruit baskets, additional food storage, fruit and vegetable washers, etc.
• Food service training costs related to new SBP activities; for example, vendor charges for point-of-sale (POS) software or vending machine training.
• Outreach costs; for example banners, paper, envelopes, and postage for flyers, or newspaper or television ads announcing the SBP or SMP.
• Incidental equipment installation costs in accordance with California Education Code Section 38091.
• Computer POS systems used exclusively for food service; for example, a computer and software for each POS, printer(s), and site license. However, the renewal of a POS license is not an allowable expense.
• Grab-and-Go equipment costs used to create remote feeding sites or areas on campus; for example, carts or kiosks, as well as one-time wiring to accommodate a POS system.
• Vending machine costs that provide breakfast items for middle and high school levels only. Allowable vending machines must be equipped to dispense reimbursable meals, conduct POS meal counts, prevent students from obtaining more than one reimbursable breakfast or lunch per day, and be solely used in the CNPs. Please note that while vending machines equipped to dispense reimbursable meals may be allowable purchases for middle and high school grades, the CDE does not consider their use an innovative strategy.
• Costs for vehicles that transport food or meals to and from sites and are used solely for food services; for example, vehicle modifications that are needed for temperature control, storage, etc., are allowable expenses.
• Barbeque grill costs that are incurred for use at outdoor SMP sites.
• Food trucks for use at SMP sites. However, the cost of food trucks must be prorated among all sites that will use or benefit from the food truck, including sites not requesting grant funds.

Unallowable Costs

Unallowable costs are recurring expenses or costs for equipment or services that are not used exclusively for the start-up or expansion of an SBP or SMP and include:

• Salaries and benefits, travel costs, subscriptions, and membership and conference fees
• Fees for required training and process certifications, such as ServSafe
• Capital outlay for building walls, rooms, or flooring, and capital expenditures that increase the useful life or value of a facility
• Equipment that will be used by other programs (i.e., equipment that SFAs will not dedicate exclusively to food services)
• Office equipment and supplies such as desks, chairs, staples, pens, pencils, paper clips, writing tablets, etc.
• Food and menus
• Costumes, promotional giveaways, prizes, T-shirts, etc.
• Uniforms for staff
• Disposable supplies such as paper towels, cleaning products, etc.
• Computers that are not part of a POS system
• Indirect costs
• Recurring costs—agencies should bill only once for materials associated with ongoing activities such as letters, flyers, etc.
• Travel-related expenses such as lodging, meals, mileage, etc. for vendors—even if the costs are associated with training

The CDE will evaluate miscellaneous kitchen supply requests on a case-by-case basis to determine if they actually contribute to or accommodate an increase in participation. Items such as can openers, knives, cutting boards, oven mitts, floor mats, etc., generally do not meet the intent of the grant for starting up or expanding an SBP or SMP.

The cost of equipment for central kitchens or kitchens that prepare meals for other kitchens, including food transport vehicles, must be prorated among all sites that will use or benefit from the equipment or vehicle, including sites not requesting grant funds.

Note: The CDE reserves the right to deny any expenditure that is not allowable or is inappropriate under this grant, even though the CDE may have initially approved the expenditure based on preliminary information provided in the application.

All purchases made under these grants are the property of the SFA and must be returned to the SFA if the site for which the equipment was purchased is no longer participating in the CNPs under the SFA’s agreement.

Terminating Awards

If a grant is awarded based on information in the application and the recipient subsequently changes the plan and requests equipment unrelated to the original plan described in the application, the CDE may terminate the grant. Examples of changes that would result in the loss of grant funds are if an SFA:

• Requests funds for transport bags to provide Breakfast in the Classroom (BIC), then after the award, requests a salad bar instead of transport bags.
• Requests to purchase a cart to serve breakfast in the area where students arrive at school, and then requests to replace a broken refrigerator instead of purchasing the cart.
• States a site will implement BIC, and then does not do so.

Assurances

Please read the entire General Assurances document located on the CDE Funding Forms web page.

Drug-free Workplace

All SFAs participating in any of the CNPs have signed a Permanent Single Agreement (PSA), and by doing so, have agreed to all terms and conditions listed in the document. On page 10 of the PSA, the section titled, Certification Regarding State and Federal Drug-free Workplace Requirements states that applicants certify to provide a drug-free workplace. No further action is required.

Certifications Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Lobbying

SFAs are prohibited from contracting with a vendor that has been debarred, proposed for debarment, or suspended. SFAs must require any potential vendor to include a certification statement with each bid of $25,000 or more. The bidder certifies that neither it nor any of its key employees have been proposed for debarment, debarred, or suspended by a federal agency. The SFA should retain bidder certifications with bid responses. Suspension and Debarment Certification can be found on the CDE Procurement in the CNPs web page.

Application Scoring Criteria

The Application Scoring Criteria can be downloaded as a CDE web document on the CDE Funding web page.

Appeals Process

Applicants that wish to appeal a grant award decision can download the Nutrition Services Division appeals process as a CDE web document on the CDE Funding web page.

Good Standing

If an agency is currently participating in any of the federal CNPs, they must be in good standing in the operation of those programs administered by the CDE and in compliance with all related regulations during the application process and anytime during the course of the grant period. The criteria that the CDE considers in determining an agency’s Good Standing status can be downloaded as a CDE web document on the CDE Funding web page.

Grant Application Submission

The CDE will only accept online applications. All applications are due by 4 p.m. Monday, March 2, 2020.