FAQs

• Are there requirements for demonstrating income eligibility for recipients?
  Answer: No, it is not required that you demonstrate income eligibility for participants, but we would want to generally understand why a group of individuals were being selected to participate in the program. 
• Can these funds go through the school meal program?
  Answer: No, these funds cannot go through the school meal program, but there is another program that will be coming out soon through CT Department of Education for the purpose of schools purchasing local product. 
• Can you clarify if/how and under what conditions a non-profit organization can apply?
  Answer: If the nonprofit is doing aggregation, they could apply under the 'other CT aggregators' category.
• Could a non-profit that produces food be able to use these funds to purchase product from themselves?
  Answer: No, this is not an allowable project under this grant program. 
• Does the 10% indirect include staff who are managing the program (who have a funding line in the budget, for example)?
  Answer: The 10% indirect is just that - expenses that are in-directly associated with the project execution. It does not (have to) include staff. The only requirement for the budget is that 51% of the funds be spent on purchasing food product. The remainder of the budget is up to the applicant to allocate between eligible expenses (salary, transportation, food storage, supplies, etc.)
• For awarding priority #2, does the entity that leads a cooperative effort have to be a 'community organization' in order to be seen as meeting this priority? What if the lead is a town? Or an aggregator?
  Answer: No, the lead entity doesn't have to be a community organization per se, so long as it's explained how all the partners within a community are cooperatively working together
• How can I connect to producers in my area?
  Answer: Please reach out and we are happy to help make connections and conduct outreach! 
• I'm not sure I understand the conclusion of the examples: these funds should not support existing distribution projects but should be piloting new ones?
  Answer: These funds should be used to expand or broaden a current project OR pilot a new one but should not be used to supplant existing state or federal dollars for a current project.
• What sort of data collection is required for this program? Do recipients of food distribution need to prove their income or show ID?
  Answer: Under the documents/forms on the LFPA webpage, we have posted a sample quarterly report that will be required of applicants to submit to CT DoAg. Recipients of food are not required to prove their income or show ID. 
• Would TA costs be allowable if intended to bring small/socially disadvantaged purchasers into the project?
  Answer:  Yes, TA costs for the purpose of bringing small/socially disadvantaged purchasers into the project is an eligible expense.