Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA NIFA FINI 010373
The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) Produce Prescription Program is a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) grant opportunity designed to test, measure, and document what happens when healthcare and food systems work together to help people eat more fruits and vegetables. The central idea is that clinicians or healthcare partners can connect patients and households to fresh produce through a structured "produce prescription" model, and then the project can evaluate whether that support leads to better diets, less food insecurity, and lower healthcare use and costs over time. In other words, it is not only about distributing produce benefits; it is also about generating credible evidence on health and economic outcomes that can inform future policy and program design.
The program's stated objectives focus on three measurable impacts. First, it aims to improve dietary health by increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among participants. Second, it targets reductions in individual and household food insecurity, recognizing that unstable access to food is tightly linked to poorer health outcomes. Third, it seeks to demonstrate reductions in healthcare utilization and related expenses, reflecting a growing interest in "food as medicine" approaches that may prevent complications, reduce emergency visits, and lower overall costs for health systems and insurers. Projects funded under this program are expected to both implement an intervention and evaluate it, so applicants need to be prepared to track participation and outcomes in a way that supports solid analysis.
Eligibility to apply is limited to governmental agencies and non-profit organizations, as required under the authorizing statute (7 U.S.C. 7517) and the Request for Applications (RFA). Colleges and universities can be eligible only if they are actually part of a government structure at the local, county, tribal, territorial, or state level; in those cases, the institution must provide documentation showing it is designated within the governmental framework (for example, operating as an entity under a Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, or Department of Public Health). The Veterans Health Administration and its component healthcare facilities, including hospitals and clinics, are explicitly identified as eligible governmental agencies.
A key requirement of this opportunity is a formal healthcare partner relationship. The healthcare partner must fall into at least one of four categories: a hospital, a Federally Qualified Health Center, a hospital or clinic operated by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or a healthcare provider group. The application must include a clear statement explaining which category the healthcare partner fits and must also include a letter of support from the healthcare partner. That letter is not a formality; it needs to describe the partner's role in implementing and evaluating the project. Even if the lead applicant is itself a qualifying healthcare entity and effectively serves as both the applicant and the healthcare partner, the program still requires a healthcare partner support letter describing those responsibilities.
Beyond the required healthcare partner, the program strongly encourages broader collaboration across sectors, reflecting the program's purpose of linking the food and healthcare systems. Applicants are encouraged to build partnerships with public or private organizations (including nonprofit and for-profit entities) and to connect with academic institutions, including minority-serving institutions and tribal colleges and universities. The RFA highlights the value of working with community-based organizations, tribal nations, local government entities, tribal health centers, public health departments, pharmacies, school nurses, and health insurance organizations, particularly where those relationships can bring additional resources, improve delivery, and address historic underinvestment or gaps in underserved communities.
The program allows applicants to partner with, and in some cases make subgrants to, a wide range of organizations that can help deliver produce prescriptions and strengthen the local food supply chain. Examples named in the opportunity include emergency feeding organizations, agricultural cooperatives, producer networks or associations, community health organizations, public benefit corporations, economic development corporations, farmers markets, community-supported agriculture programs, buying clubs, and SNAP/NAP-authorized retail food stores, as well as Tribal, State, Territorial, or local agencies. Importantly, only the lead applicant must meet the formal eligibility requirements; partners and collaborators do not need to be independently eligible to apply. The RFA also notes that award recipients can sub-award to entities that are not eligible applicants if those organizations are necessary to carry out the project, subject to the funding restrictions described in the RFA.
From the funding details provided, this is a mandatory grant program administered by USDA NIFA under CFDA 10.331, with the opportunity number USDA NIFA FINI 010373. The listed award ceiling is $500,000, with an expected 11 awards. The opportunity was created on 2023-11-29 and had an original closing date of 2024-02-28. Taken together, these details suggest a competitive national program with a moderate number of awards, where strong applications will likely be those that show a credible healthcare partnership, a realistic operational plan for delivering produce prescriptions, and a clear evaluation approach capable of demonstrating outcomes tied to diet, food security, and healthcare utilization and costs.Apply for USDA NIFA FINI 010373
- The National Institute of Food and Agriculture in the agriculture sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program Produce Prescription Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.331.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2023-11-29.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-02-28. (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 11 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others.
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