OAR 581-017-0430: Noncompetitive Farm-to-School Grant for Reimbursement of Oregon Foods

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Education service district” has the meaning given that term in ORS 334.003. (b) “Eligible entity” means a school district, a provider of center-based programs for children, or a service institution. (c) “Food processed in the State of Oregon” includes but is not limited to foods that were baked, frozen, ground, canned, or milled in the State of Oregon. (d) “Food produced in the State of Oregon” includes but is not limited to foods that were grown, caught, harvested, or raised in the State of Oregon. (e) “Minimally processed” means that the food product was processed in a manner that does not fundamentally alter the product and the product retains its inherent character. The term includes, but is not limited to, butchering livestock and poultry, cleaning fish, dicing meats, slicing produce, forming ground food products into patties, grinding meats, drying or dehydrating food products, and washing produce. (f) “Provider of center-based programs for children” means a child care center certified by the Office of Child Care, a Head Start center, an Oregon prekindergarten program, a school district, or an education service district that both provides non-residential child care services to enrolled children and participates in the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program. (g) “Service institution” means a public or private nonprofit school, a public or private nonprofit residential summer camp, or other program sponsor that participates in the federal Summer Food Service Program. (h)(A) “School district” means an Oregon common school district, joint school district, union high school district, or public charter school. (B) “School district” does not include an education service district. (2) The purpose of the noncompetitive Oregon Farm-to-School grant for Reimbursement of Oregon foods is to assist eligible entities with paying the costs they incur purchasing foods that were: (a) Produced in the State of Oregon; (b) More than minimally processed in the State of Oregon; or (c) Both produced and processed in the State of Oregon. (3) An eligible entity which receives a noncompetitive Oregon Farm-to-School grant for Reimbursement of Oregon foods may reserve up to twenty-five percent of the total amount awarded for all reasonable costs incurred including: (a) Growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, sourcing, or transporting food produced or processed in the State of Oregon, including but not limited to purchasing supplies, labor costs, and mileage; grantees may partner with other entities to provide this support. (b) Providing education to children about foods produced or processed in the State of Oregon; and (c) Promoting the use of foods produced or processed in the State of Oregon to children. (4) The purchase of certain foods produced or processed in the State of Oregon may not be supplanted with grant funds. The department shall develop and publish a list of those foods. Recipients of a noncompetitive Oregon Farm-to-School grant for Reimbursement of Oregon Foods may not use their grants to supplant purchases of foods produced or processed in the State of Oregon that are included on the current list of ineligible foods published by the department. (5) Recipients of a noncompetitive Oregon Farm-to-School grant for Reimbursement of Oregon Foods must deposit the grant funds they receive in an account that is separate from their nonprofit food service account, or assign those funds a separate account or index number. (6)(a) For purposes of this subsection, “reimbursable meal” means a reimbursable breakfast, lunch, snack, or supper that is provided by an eligible entity through the federal National School Lunch, Child and Adult Care Food Program, or Summer Food Service Programs. (b) The amount of a noncompetitive Oregon Farm-to-School Program grant recipient’s award will be based on the number of reimbursable meals served by the recipient through the federal National School Lunch and Summer Food Service Programs during the previous school year and summer. (c) The department may develop or adopt a formula or method for converting different types of reimbursable meals and snacks to the equivalent of a reimbursable lunch. The department will publish the formula or method chosen on its website. (7)(a) The department may reallocate noncompetitive grant for Reimbursement of Oregon Foods funds to other eligible entities if noncompetitive grant for Reimbursement of Oregon Foods funds either remain after awards are made or become unobligated, or if a grant recipient is not making adequate progress towards spending all of its grant award during the biennium in which the award was made. (b) The department will notify noncompetitive grant for Reimbursement of Oregon Foods recipients if their claimed program expenses do not show that the recipients are making adequate progress towards spending all of their grant awards during the biennium in which the awards were made. (8) The Department of Education will apply the Oregon Equity Lens when administering this grant including when determining resource allocation and making strategic investments.