Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) Nutrition Paraprofessional Training

The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers 15 Federal nutrition assistance programs of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The mission of FNS is to reduce hunger and food insecurity in partnership with cooperating organizations by providing children and needy people access to food, a healthful diet, and nutrition education in a manner that supports American agriculture and inspires public confidence.

The goal for this project is to develop and deliver a pilot nutrition paraprofessional training project for FDPIR staff working at local program sites. The training tools and resources developed under this grant should support the efforts of FDPIR local staff in conducting nutrition education activities for FDPIR participants who receive USDA foods.

This was a competitive, limited solicitation in FY19. The cooperative agreement was only open to accredited public or private academic institutes of higher education, research or training institutions, or nonprofit organizations.
In FY22, FNS awarded a non-competitive cooperative agreement as the original scope of work was delayed due to the pandemic.

The applicant selected will teach local agency FDPIR staff the basic nutrition knowledge and skills needed to deliver basic nutrition information, on specific topics, to participants who receive foods through FDPIR.

For FY19 competitive award: following the initial screening process, FNS assembled a panel to review and determine the technical merits of each application. The panel evaluated the proposals based on how well they addressed the required application components and arrayed the applications from highest to lowest score. The panel members recommended applications for consideration for an agreement based on the evaluation scoring. The selecting official reserved the right to accept the panel’s recommendation or to select an application for funding out of rank order to meet agency priorities, program balance, geographical representation, or project diversity.