Local Food for Schools (LFS) 

Cooperative Agreement Program

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PROGRAM OVERVIEW

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Purpose and Authorization

• The Local Food for Schools (LFS) program will help states deal with the challenges of supply chain disruptions brought on by the

pandemic. The program will also strengthen the food system by helping to build a fair, competitive, and resilient local food chain 

and expand local and regional markets. 

• State agencies will enter into non-competitive cooperative agreements with USDA for the purchase of local domestic foods, with 

purchases targeting socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and small businesses. 

• All purchased food will be distributed to schools.

• All food purchased must be unprocessed or minimally processed. 

• Program is authorized and funded under Section 5(c) of the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 714c)

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Three Overarching Goals

Provide an opportunity for 

States to strengthen their 

local and regional food 

system.

Help to support local and 

socially disadvantaged 

farmers/producers and small 

business through building and 

expanding economic 

opportunities.

Establish, strengthen, and 

broaden partnerships with 

farmers/producers and schools 

to ensure distribution of fresh 

and nutritious foods. 

1 2 3

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Key Differences Between LFPA and LFS

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LFPA LFS

$400M $200M

ARP (American Rescue Plan) Act Funds CCC (Commodity Credit Corporation) 

2 Year period of performance 1 Year period of performance

Eligible applicants include states agencies, territories, or 

Tribal Governments

Eligible applicants include state agencies or territories

Targets purchases from socially disadvantaged producers 

and suppliers

Targets purchases from socially disadvantaged 

producers and suppliers and small business

Distribution targets underserved communities; could occur 

at food banks, food hubs, churches, schools, etc.

Distribution will occur at schools only (reporting will occur 

through the NSLP).

Processed foods are OK Unprocessed or minimally processed foods only 

Direct costs for food, outreach, program development, and 

administrative costs (salaries, etc) and indirect costs are 

allowable.

Direct costs for food, storage, and distribution ONLY
Procurement

• State agencies will procure domestic, local, 

unprocessed or minimally processed foods 

from local farmers and ranchers. 

• Purchases will target socially disadvantaged 

farmers and ranchers and small businesses to 

expand existing local food networks.

• Documented procurement procedures must be 

in place and consistent with applicable State

and local laws and regulations, and conform to 

the procurement standards identified in 2 CFR 

§ through 2 CFR § 200.327. 

Distribution

• State agencies will distribute food to schools 

within their state. Eligible schools are those 

that participate in the National School Lunch 

Program and/or School Breakfast program. 

• States must ensure equitable distribution to 

individual school districts as is required in 7 

CFR 250.58(b). 

• States are required to ensure equitable distribution 

of food to tribal schools as required for the National 

School Lunch Program. 

How it will work...

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• $200 million for 50 states and U.S. territories. 

• One-year period of performance from the time of award (2022 – 2023) 

• Section 2.5 of the Request for Applications (RFA) includes a table with the allocation 

available by state or territory.

• https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/LFS_RFA.pdf

• Allocations are based on enrollment and earnings data from schools participating the National School 

Lunch Program. States must ensure equitable distribution to individual school districts as is required 

in 7 CFR 250.58(b). 

Program Funding

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Eligible Applicants

• State agencies, commissions, or departments that are responsible for agriculture, procurement, 

food distribution, emergency response, administration of the National School Lunch Program, 

or similar activities within the State. 

• One award per State or territory; agencies within the State must coordinate if more than one 

agency wishes to implement this program. 

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Program Timeline

Request for 

Applications (RFA) 

released on March 

17, 2022 

Applications due 

June 17, 2022

Awards will be made 

as they are submitted, 

reviewed, and 

approved

Cooperative 

Agreements will be 

in place for up to 1 

year

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Technical Assistance

Cooperative Agreement support

• Proposal preparation assistance

• Grants.gov, and ezFedGrants assistance

• Office Hours

Implementation Support

• Dedicated outreach resource website

• Coordination between award recipients to share best practices

• Provide contracting expertise

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APPLICATION PROCESS

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• Registration at both Grants.gov and ezFedGrants.gov 

• Standard Form 424 (Fillable PDF in Grants.gov)

• Project Narrative Form (not more than 20 additional pages)

Application Package

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Project Narrative

Executive Summary

• Summary of 250 words or less about the project’s purpose and expected 

outcomes, suitable for dissemination to the public.

Alignment and Intent

• List objectives the project hopes to achieve

• Project beneficiaries

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Proposal Narrative

Work Plan

Describe how you will meet the objectives of the program. This includes demonstrating that 

your organization and subrecipients can carry out the procurements with ample:

• Planning

• Resources 

• Financial controls

• reporting ability 

• risk management plans

• Timeline & milestones

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Data collected will measure the impact of the program.

• Outcome 1- Purchase related (socially disadvantaged producers)

• Number of local producers/vendors 

• Value of food purchases

• Outcome 2- Purchase related (small businesses)

• Number local producers/vendors

• Value of food purchases

Achievability

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Achievability

• Outcome 3 - Applicants will include a narrative estimating the following:

• New marking opportunities established by;

• Purchasing from local and regional farmers and ranchers

• Purchasing from socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers

• Purchasing from small businesses

• Outcome 4 – (Optional) Unique outcome not covered by outcomes 1-3

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Allowable Costs

• In addition to the purchase of food, applicants may request direct costs for:

• Storage

• Distribution

• Unallowable costs: 

• Administrative expenses (salaries, program development, outreach, technical assistance)

• Indirect costs

• Equipment purchases

• Capital Investment (repair or upgrade)

• Construction 

• Production costs (seed, fertilizer, etc)

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AWARDING AGREEMENTS

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• Program funds will be awarded through a noncompetitive process.

• Applications for cooperative agreement will be awarded based on acceptability 

and ability to meet the goals of the Program.

• Awards will be made on a rolling basis; application can be submitted at any time 

after issuance of the RFA and prior to the application due date. 

The LFS Award Process

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REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

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Quarterly Report:

Recipients are required to provide quarterly progress and financial reports. Quarterly reports will include:

• data on procurements to ensure program goals are met. 

Final Report:

Recipients are required to provide a Final report at the end of the performance period. The report will 

include:

• a summary of the data from the quarterly progress reports.

• narrative addressing the new marketing opportunities for local and regional farmers/producers, 

socially disadvantaged farmers/producers, and small businesses.

Quarterly and final reports are required.

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• Federal law requires audits of all entities that spend $750,000 or more in Federal funding within 

their fiscal year

• Evaluates operations and internal controls

• Requires financial statement that includes:

• Schedule of expenditures

• Notes that describe accounting policies

• Summary schedule of prior audit findings, if applicable

• Corrective action plan for findings

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Single Audit Requirement
SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION

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Submitting the Application

1. Obtain a SAM UEI 

Number

www.sam.gov

1. Register with System for 

Award Management 

(SAM)

Steps 1 and 2 can take up to 

3 to 4 weeks

Grants.gov

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Must Register on ezFedGrant.gov (eFG)

Create an eAuth account EzfedGrants.gov

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Need Assistance? 

eAuthentication Account Creation

Contact the eAuthentication Help Desk: 

• 1-800-457-3642 (Option 1)

• eAuthHelpDesk@ftc.usda.gov

24/7 Grants.gov support

• support@grants.gov

• 1-800-518-4726

• Grants.gov webpage (https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support.html)

EzfedGrants questions

• Help Desk at ezFedGrants-cfo@usda.gov.

• External User Onboarding- https://nfc.usda.gov/FSS/Training/Online/ezFedGrants/Resources/JA- Onboarding_Quick_Reference.pdf

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CONTACTS & RESOURCES

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Outreach Resources

An outreach resources website has been established that includes:

• Resources for states

• Resources for socially disadvantaged producers and small businesses

https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/lfpacap/outreach-resources

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For more information

• LFS website

https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/lfs

• Additional questions

MRP.AMS.LFS@usda.gov

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