Washington Administrative Code › Title 16 - Agriculture, Department of (See also Titles 24, 60, and 142) › MISCELLANEOUS › Chapter 16-740 - Food assistance programs › Section 16-740-040 - Contractor funding allocation and award of contracts

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
At least seventy percent of the total allocation appropriated
				  by the legislature shall be contracted to lead agency contractors. These funds
				  shall be for the purpose of funding the activities of food banks and food
				  distributors, the purchase of special dietary needs foods, and providing
				  special dietary needs training. The specific appropriation for timber and
				  salmon dependent communities shall be contracted to food banks in those
				  communities. Of the remainder of the total allocation, not including department
				  administrative costs, allocations shall be contracted to a discretionary
				  program if the department elects to award such contracts, the tribal food
				  voucher program, and additional special dietary needs training. Allocations for
				  each county shall be contracted to lead agency contractors on the following
				  basis:
(1) A formula for distributing
				the funds in proportion to need shall be established by the department in
				consultation with a committee appointed by the director or the director's
				designee. This formula may only be changed at the beginning of a biennial
				contract period.
(2) The department
				shall award the lead agency contract to an eligible contractor, as defined by
				the department, which is supported by a least two-thirds of the participating
				food banks in a county.
(3) The
				department may award the combined allocation for two or more counties to a
				single applicant.
(4) The
				department shall award a contract to no more than one lead agency contractor in
				each county, with the exception of King County, where there may be three lead
				agency contractors, to administer subcontracts with one or more participating
				food banks and food distributors.
(5) Federally recognized tribes may apply to
				the department directly for the food bank program without having to subcontract
				with the lead agency. They must meet all the same criteria and requirements as
				lead agencies.
(6) Within each lead
				agency service area, except for the additional funds specifically allocated for
				food banks in timber and salmon dependent communities, funds shall be allocated
				between food distributors, food banks, and special dietary needs foods and
				training based on a two-thirds vote of all participating food banks and the
				lead agency.
(7) The additional
				funds specifically allocated for food banks in timber and salmon dependent
				communities shall remain in the amounts identified by the
				legislature.
(8) If participating
				food banks designate funds for food distribution, they shall elect with a
				two-thirds vote of the participating food banks and the lead agency, an
				eligible distributor as defined by the department. They may choose more than
				one distributor with which to subcontract. The lead agency contractor shall be
				responsible for subcontracting with the food distributor(s).
(9) A formula for distributing the funds to
				each tribe and tribal organization participating in the emergency food
				assistance program in proportion to need shall be established by the department
				in consultation with a committee consisting of representatives from all tribes
				participating in the program. This formula may only be changed at the beginning
				of a biennial contract period.
(10)
				The department shall pay for services provided under the emergency food
				assistance program after the contractor submits a monthly report of
				expenditures incurred and a request for reimbursement.
(11) Tribes may apply for the food bank funds
				or the food voucher funds or both. Tribes will receive the same amount of funds
				whether they participate in one or both programs, computed as their share of
				the allocated EFAP tribal funds. It will be up to the discretion of each
				participating tribe how it allocates the EFAP funds.
(12) In the event that funds are not claimed
				by an eligible organization in a county or that a portion of the funds
				allocated to a county remains unspent, the lead agency contractor may request
				authorization from the department to reallocate funds, within its service area,
				to an area of unmet need.
(13) In
				the event that a portion of the funds allocated to a subcontracting tribe
				within a tribal contractor's contract remains unspent or unclaimed, the tribal
				contractor may request authorization from the department to reallocate funds to
				one of its other subcontracting tribes with unmet needs.
Statutory Authority: 2010 c 68 and
					 chapter
					 34.05 RCW. 10-20-061,
					 § 16-740-040, filed 9/27/10, effective
					 10/28/10.