Supporting the Use of Traditional Indigenous Foods in the Child Nutrition Programs | USDA FNS 2024 SUTIF

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FNS 2024 SUTIF

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) grant opportunity titled Supporting the Use of Traditional Indigenous Foods in the Child Nutrition Programs (Funding Opportunity Number: USDA FNS 2024 SUTIF) is a discretionary cooperative agreement designed to help School Food Authorities (SFAs) that serve tribal communities increase the use of traditional Indigenous foods in federally supported meal programs. FNS plans to award a total of $2 million across up to four awards, with each award capped at $500,000. The intent is to fund organizations from different regions of the contiguous United States, Alaska, or Hawaii, with the regional breakdown flexible (it may, but does not have to, match FNS regions). The application closing date listed for this opportunity is April 8, 2024, and the program aligns with CFDA number 10.532 under the Food and Nutrition activity category.

At its core, this grant funds Native-led, Native-staffed organizations to deliver tailored training and technical assistance (TA) to SFAs that participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and serve tribal communities. While NSLP is the anchor program mentioned, the funding can also support traditional Indigenous foods within several related Child Nutrition Programs (CNP), including the School Breakfast Program (SBP), Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), Seamless Summer Option (SSO), and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) At-Risk component. The cooperative agreement structure signals that awardees will carry out this work in close coordination with FNS, including receiving guidance and approvals for certain deliverables.

A defining feature of the project design is that training and assistance are expected to be culturally relevant and grounded in the lived expertise of the communities being served. Funded cooperators are encouraged to draw directly from school nutrition professionals, school administrators, community partners, elders, and other community experts within the tribal communities involved. The work is not limited to operational support in cafeterias; it also includes developing culturally relevant nutrition education materials for students that connect to the traditional foods being served. Awardees will also be responsible for training school nutrition professionals and other school staff on how to deliver that nutrition education in ways that fit community context and are appropriate for students.

FNS lays out a set of outcomes that, taken together, describe both practical implementation goals and broader capacity-building goals. On the implementation side, the agency wants a clearer, documented understanding of the barriers SFAs face when trying to offer traditional Indigenous foods, such as procurement challenges, supply consistency, pricing, menu planning, recipe standardization, and operational constraints. The program also aims to establish new procurement relationships so SFAs can source traditional Indigenous foods in acceptable quantities and at workable prices, which is often a central obstacle to sustained menu inclusion. Another key deliverable area is recipe development: creating, standardizing, and testing new recipes that use traditional Indigenous foods and that are specific to the tribal communities served, supporting both meal pattern compliance and real-world kitchen feasibility.

On the engagement and education side, the opportunity emphasizes bringing school nutrition professionals from tribal communities into the work in a hands-on way, rather than treating them as passive recipients of guidance. It also seeks to increase student and community engagement through practical strategies such as taste tests, student nutrition committees, Local School Wellness Committees, and other locally appropriate methods. Alongside increased inclusion of traditional foods in meals, FNS wants updated or newly developed student-facing nutrition education resources that explain the meaning and importance of the foods being served, reinforcing cultural connections and student acceptance. The training component extends to equipping school staff to deliver that education effectively, which helps integrate traditional foods into the broader school wellness and learning environment rather than isolating them as occasional menu items.

Capacity building is another major theme. FNS explicitly aims to increase the ability of eligible Native-led organizations to provide high-quality training and TA in this space, strengthening long-term community infrastructure beyond the grant period. The opportunity also places value on producing sharable best practices and outcomes data that demonstrate what works, under what conditions, and with what results. In other words, awardees are expected not only to help schools implement changes, but also to capture lessons learned and evidence that tailored, culturally grounded support can improve the feasibility and effectiveness of bringing traditional Indigenous foods into Child Nutrition Programs.

Partnership development is woven throughout the expected outcomes. FNS is looking for strengthened relationships among non-profits, SFAs, tribes, and other entities with relevant expertise in training, nutrition and nutrition education, Indigenous foods, and school food service management. At the same time, the program is intended to deepen partnerships between FNS and organizations led and staffed primarily by members of Federally Recognized Tribes and/or Native Hawaiians, as well as with the tribal communities themselves. This reflects an emphasis on collaboration and community-led implementation rather than one-size-fits-all technical guidance.

Eligibility for the Lead Applicant is specific and structured around three required criteria (A, B, and C). First, the entity must fall into an eligible type, which can include a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, an SFA participating in NSLP, a tribal government-owned entity (or an arm or instrumentality of a tribal government), a Native Hawaiian Organization recognized by the Department of the Interior, or other non-governmental entities including Tribal Colleges and Universities. The announcement also allows fiscal sponsors of otherwise eligible organizations. Second, the leadership and staff of the entity must be predominantly (more than 50 percent) members of Federally Recognized Tribes and/or Native Hawaiians. If a fiscal sponsor is involved, this staffing requirement applies to the fiscally sponsored entity; and for partnerships, it applies to the Lead Applicant, though the Lead Applicant may partner with organizations that do not meet the staffing criterion. Third, the Lead Applicant must be able to demonstrate existing relationships plus experience and expertise in training and technical assistance, school nutrition, Indigenous foods, and nutrition education. The full, formal eligibility language is referenced as being located in Section 3, page 18 of the Request for Applications under the announcement’s related documents.

Overall, this opportunity is structured to move beyond pilot efforts and toward sustained, practical integration of traditional Indigenous foods into school and community feeding programs, while ensuring the work is led by Native organizations with proven connections to the communities served. It combines operational support (procurement, recipes, menu integration), workforce development (training and TA for school nutrition staff), and student-facing education (culturally relevant materials and delivery training), with an expectation that awardees will document outcomes and share best practices that can help other tribal-serving SFAs replicate successful approaches.

• The Food and Nutrition Service in the food and nutrition sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Supporting the Use of Traditional Indigenous Foods in the Child Nutrition Programs" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.532.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-01-18.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-04-08. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA FNS 2024 SUTIF

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