Notice2021-19764
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request: Additional Information To Be Collected Under the Uniform Grant Application Package for Discretionary Grant Programs for the Emergency Food Assistance Program Reach and Resiliency Grants
Primary source
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Published
September 14, 2021
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentFood and Nutrition Service
Abstract
This Notice announces that the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) plans to add The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) Reach and Resiliency Grants, as authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act, to its list of approved programs under the Uniform Grant Application for Non-Entitlement Discretionary Grants, as approved under OMB Control Number: 0584-0512 (Expiration Date: July 31, 2022); and that FNS intends to collect additional information for the TEFAP Reach and Resiliency Grants outside of what is currently in the uniform package. This Notice solicits public comments on the additional information to be collected for the TEFAP Reach and Resiliency Grants.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 175 (Tuesday, September 14, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 14, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51110-51111]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19764]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request: Additional Information To Be Collected Under the
Uniform Grant Application Package for Discretionary Grant Programs for
the Emergency Food Assistance Program Reach and Resiliency Grants
AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This Notice announces that the United States Department of
Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) plans to add The
Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) Reach and Resiliency Grants,
as authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act, to its list of approved
programs under the Uniform Grant Application for Non-Entitlement
Discretionary Grants, as approved under OMB Control Number: 0584-0512
(Expiration Date: July 31, 2022); and that FNS intends to collect
additional information for the TEFAP Reach and Resiliency Grants
outside of what is currently in the uniform package. This Notice
solicits public comments on the additional information to be collected
for the TEFAP Reach and Resiliency Grants.
DATES: To be assured of consideration, written comments must be
submitted or postmarked on or before September 14, 2021.
ADDRESSES:
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions that were used; (c) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond.
Comments must be submitted through one of the following methods:
<bullet> Preferred method: Submit information through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the online
instructions for submissions.
<bullet> Email: Send comments to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b5c7d4d6ddd0d99bc6d6dddad0dbdcd4dbf5c0c6d1d49bd2dac3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="592b383a313c35772a3a31363c37303837192c2a3d38773e362f">[email protected]</span></a> with a
subject line ``TEFAP Reach and Resiliency Grant Information
Collection.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rachel Schoenian, Food Distribution
Division, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, 703-305-2937, or email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6a180b09020f0644190902050f04030b042a1f190e0b440d051c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7103101219141d5f0212191e141f18101f31040215105f161e07">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Utilizing funding and authority provided by
Section 1001(b)(4) of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA, P.L. 117-2),
USDA is establishing a new grant program for State agencies that
administer The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), aimed at
helping strengthen TEFAP infrastructure and expand TEFAP's reach into
rural, remote, and/or low-income communities that are underserved by
TEFAP.
TEFAP Reach and Resiliency Grants will be offered in two rounds. As
planned, half of the funds ($50 million) will be offered to States in
Fall 2021. Each TEFAP State agency will be able to apply for a fair
share portion of the initial funding according to the TEFAP funding
formula at 7 CFR 251.3(h). FNS will use lessons learned from the first
round of Reach and Resiliency Grants to determine the best method for
offering the second round.
For the first round of grant funding, eligible entities will submit
an application using FNS' Uniform Grant Application for Discretionary
Grant Programs (OMB Control Number: 0584-0512, Expiration Date: July
31, 2022), which will include up to ten additional questions related to
the goals of the Reach and Resiliency grants. These questions will be
outlined in the Request for Applications for the TEFAP Reach and
Resiliency Grant and be incorporated into the grant application
template. State agencies will have the option to use the optional
template or any other format to answer the questions. The additional
questions included will relate to how TEFAP State agencies will utilize
TEFAP Reach and Resiliency grant funding and how the State's project
will: (1) Strengthen infrastructure; and (2) expand reach into rural,
remote, and/or low-income communities currently underserved by TEFAP in
the State. This will include submission of data that identifies those
underserved areas. Additional information that State agencies will also
need to provide includes the names of anticipated partners, the
percentage of funds that will be kept at the State-level, and other
information that ensures the proposed use of the grant complies with
current program regulations.
To measure impact of the grants and to determine whether the grants
achieve their intended purposes, grantees will be required to provide
narrative, biannual progress reports using the FNS-908 Performance
Progress Report form, as a condition to accepting grant funding. In
addition to this standard form, grantees will be asked to respond to
two more questions related to progress made toward achieving the goals
of the grant program, on a biannual basis. These questions may include
updates to any data submitted in the grant application. The two
additional questions will be outlined in the Request for Applications
for the TEFAP Reach and Resiliency grant. A template submission form
will be provided to grantees to report this information, but they will
have the option of reporting the information in any format they choose.
With the additional information that will be requested, FNS
estimates that each State agency will spend a total of approximately
53.58 hours completing the full grant application package. Under 0584-
0512, FNS has 114,431 remaining burden hours and 23,293 remaining
responses available for use. Under the TEFAP Reach and Resiliency
Grants, State agencies are expected to use 4,763.99 burden hours and
1,458 responses for the pre-award, post-award and recordkeeping burden,
including the additional information to be collected. All three items
make up the burden for the competitive grants that are submitted under
0584-0512.
This purpose of this Notice is to solicit public comments on the
additional information to be collected for the TEFAP Reach and
Resiliency Grants through the ten question application questionnaire
and through the two question biannual progress reports for the grant
program. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection
of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions
of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions that were used; (c) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond.
[[Page 51111]]
FNS will utilize these comments to adjust the information
collection as necessary.
Cynthia Long,
Acting Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-19764 Filed 9-13-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P
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