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Supply Chain Assistance Funds
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Many schools are continuing to experience unprecedented challenges in purchasing and receiving food through their normal distribution channels. USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) provided a Second Round of Supply Chain Assistance (SCA) funding to enhance schools’ ability to purchase foods for school meals. Throughout SY22 and into SY23, schools have needed to significantly revise planned menus as popular and previously available food items have become more difficult to procure. Shortages and price fluctuations have also made it difficult to provide meals which are appealing to students and meet the NSLP/SBP nutrition and meal pattern requirements. The SCA funds will assist school efforts to provide consistent and nutritious meals to children.
SCA funds remain limited to the purchase of unprocessed or minimally processed domestic food products (also referred to as commodities).
Link to USDA website:
https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/second-allocation-supply-chain-assistance-sca-funds-alleviate-supply-chain-disruptions
Contracting Entities (CEs) that include public, charter, and private nonprofit schools, and Resident Child Care Institutions (RCCIs), are eligible for a $5,000 base amount if they meet all requirements below:
- Currently operate the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and/or School Breakfast Program (SBP) - including NSLP Afterschool Snack Program and the Seamless Summer Option (SSO);
- Encountered supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 public health emergency; and
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Faced financial difficulties as a result of those supply chain disruptions.
Additionally, CEs that meet the above criteria but also have a 25% or more free/reduced price student enrollment as of February 2020 are qualified for an additional amount based on number of children enrolled. Please read the FAQs above for more information on this calculation.
- Review the Supply Chain Assistance Funding FAQs (see Resources above) for detailed information on criteria for eligibility, calculation of funding allotments, rules for SCA fund spending, reporting requirements, and other important details.
- Ensure your CE is listed on the Grant Recipients List 2nd Round. If your CE is not listed on this report, send an email to supplychaingrant@texasagriculture.gov.
- CEs with attestations completed from the first round and did select additional funding are “TDA Approved” and will receive the amount listed in the Grant Recipients List 2nd Round.
- CEs without attestations from the first round or did not opt-in to additional funding will need to complete and submit the Attestation of Eligibility for Supply Chain Assistance Funding form (see Resources box above) no later than October 24, 2022.
- TDA will distribute funds in December 2022 through January 2023. Note that TDA may reach out to you for more information regarding your Attestation prior to distributing funds.
- Record SCA funding using TEA Revenue Code 5939 (Federal revenue passed through a state agency). Schools that use enterprise funds will use 7954 (USDA Commodities). Funds must be realized in the fiscal year received.
SCA Exemption Request Process
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Assistance available in English and Spanish. Please call 877-TEX-MEAL (877-839-6325) for help.
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In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
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1. Mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
2. Fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
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This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
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