A new required text field has been added within the "Contact Information" section of the online application, for applicants to provide their Unique Entity IDs. Unique Entity IDs are assigned by the federal System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and are a 12-character alphanumeric value. The text field that originally asked for the applicant's Unique Entity ID was not formatted to accept alphanumeric values. That original text field is still included in the application but is no longer a required question and should be left blank.
A new required text field has been added within the "Contact Information" section of the online application, for applicants to provide their Unique Entity IDs. Unique Entity IDs are assigned by the federal System for Award Management (SAM.gov) and are a 12-character alphanumeric value. The text field that originally asked for the applicant's Unique Entity ID was not formatted to accept alphanumeric values. That original text field is still included in the application but is no longer a required question and should be left blank.
The language regarding legal eligibility for applicants that are applying as individuals has been updated. As noted in version 2.0 of the Request for Applications, if applying as an individual, the applicant must not have been convicted of a criminal offense such as theft, embezzlement, or forgery related to a federal grant agreement within the past three years, or to a state grant agreement at any point in time.
In the online application, applicants that have indicated in the "Eligibility" section that they are applying as an individual are now asked to confirm if the following statement is true:
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If applying as an individual, I attest that I have not been convicted of a criminal offense such as theft, embezzlement, or forgery related to a federal grant agreement within the past three years, or to a state grant agreement at any point in time.
The language regarding legal eligibility for applicants that are applying as individuals has been updated. As noted in version 2.0 of the Request for Applications, if applying as an individual, the applicant must not have been convicted of a criminal offense such as theft, embezzlement, or forgery related to a federal grant agreement within the past three years, or to a state grant agreement at any point in time.
In the online application, applicants that have indicated in the "Eligibility" section that they are applying as an individual are now asked to confirm if the following statement is true:
-
If applying as an individual, I attest that I have not been convicted of a criminal offense such as theft, embezzlement, or forgery related to a federal grant agreement within the past three years, or to a state grant agreement at any point in time.
No, EBT equipment and staffing related to EBT transactions are not eligible expenses for this grant. The MN LFPA Program is intended as a hunger relief program where the food is distributed at no cost, without conditions for the end users. Expenses associated with EBT transactions are not eligible because during an EBT transaction the SNAP customers are providing a form of payment for the food rather than receiving the food at no cost.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) offers no-cost, EBT-only equipment to SNAP authorized farmers markets (and direct marketing farmers). Please contact us if you’d like us to direct you to the appropriate contact at DHS.
No, EBT equipment and staffing related to EBT transactions are not eligible expenses for this grant. The MN LFPA Program is intended as a hunger relief program where the food is distributed at no cost, without conditions for the end users. Expenses associated with EBT transactions are not eligible because during an EBT transaction the SNAP customers are providing a form of payment for the food rather than receiving the food at no cost.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) offers no-cost, EBT-only equipment to SNAP authorized farmers markets (and direct marketing farmers). Please contact us if you’d like us to direct you to the appropriate contact at DHS.
Yes, uncooked pasta is considered minimally processed and would be an eligible expense. If the pasta business is located in Minnesota and the ingredients (e.g. flour, eggs) meet the definition of local provided in the Request for Applications (see page 10), the pasta would be considered a Minnesota product for the purposes of meeting the requirement that 70% of food purchased must be sourced from within the geographic boundaries of Minnesota.
Yes, uncooked pasta is considered minimally processed and would be an eligible expense. If the pasta business is located in Minnesota and the ingredients (e.g. flour, eggs) meet the definition of local provided in the Request for Applications (see page 10), the pasta would be considered a Minnesota product for the purposes of meeting the requirement that 70% of food purchased must be sourced from within the geographic boundaries of Minnesota.
The grant asks applicants to identify as a part of their budget how much they will spend in year one versus year two. If the bulk of expenses come in year two, that isn’t a problem.
We believe the reference in the question to “split 50% per annual year” stems from the questions in the application about advance funds. That portion of the application states that an applicant can request advance funding for up to 50% of their total year one budget, and up to 50% in advance funding for their total year 2 budget. It does not mean that an applicant’s budget must be spent 50/50 between years 1 and 2.
The grant asks applicants to identify as a part of their budget how much they will spend in year one versus year two. If the bulk of expenses come in year two, that isn’t a problem.
We believe the reference in the question to “split 50% per annual year” stems from the questions in the application about advance funds. That portion of the application states that an applicant can request advance funding for up to 50% of their total year one budget, and up to 50% in advance funding for their total year 2 budget. It does not mean that an applicant’s budget must be spent 50/50 between years 1 and 2.
