Retail Food Safety Regulatory Association Collaboration CAP
🏛 Food and Drug Administration (HHS-FDA)
✓ Free, no account · Source: Grants.gov · Last verified Jul 15, 2026
Can you apply?
This grant is for state, local, tribal, and territorial food regulatory agencies and their authorized representatives seeking to collaborate on retail food safety initiatives. Eligible recipients include government agencies responsible for food safety enforcement and jurisdiction-based food regulatory authorities. The program supports collaborative efforts to improve retail food safety compliance, coordination among regulatory agencies, and the development of standardized approaches to food safety regulation. Geographic scope includes all U.S. states, territories, and tribal jurisdictions. Supported activities typically include inter-agency coordination, training and technical assistance, development of harmonized food safety standards, and capacity-building to strengthen retail food safety programs.
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Program description
The proposed cooperative agreement is a renewal of the existing CAP supporting key stakeholders in retail food safety to coordinate and advance retail food protection in the United States.
The intended outcome of this NOFO is to collaboratively advance retail food safety initiatives to reduce food-borne illness. This cooperative agreement is intended to advance practices in retail food protection, conduct research related to such practices and identify opportunities for collaboration to reduce the occurrence of food-borne illness risk factors.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
How to apply
Application links
Required documents
- SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance)
- Project Narrative (describing collaborative goals, activities, and expected outcomes)
- Budget Narrative and Budget Forms (SF-424A and supporting detail)
- Organizational documentation (IRS tax-exempt status, SAM registration, DUNS number for government agencies)
- Letters of commitment or memoranda of understanding from partner agencies
- Organizational capacity statement demonstrating food safety regulatory expertise
- Evaluation plan with measurable performance metrics
- Timeline for project implementation and deliverables
Program contact
- 👤 Terrin Brown Grantor
- 📧 terrin.brown@fda.hhs.gov
- 📞 2404027610
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 93.103 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
-
$121,795,918
-
$76,105,626
-
$50,217,964
-
$47,940,304
-
$36,000,000
-
$35,573,997
-
$35,391,995
-
$30,732,300
-
$23,332,999
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$21,347,288
Top States by Funding
- AZ 3 awards $131.4M
- MD 7 awards $108.7M
- CA 9 awards $106.5M
- VA 5 awards $96.6M
- PA 10 awards $77.4M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 93.103). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2016 | $170,482,435 | |
| 2017 est. | $208,900,832 | |
| 2018 | $173,077,408 | |
| 2019 | $198,507,896 | |
| 2020 | $212,448,590 | |
| 2021 | $218,918,739 | |
| 2022 est. | $255,910,458 | |
| 2023 est. | $246,894,600 |
FAQ
Who is eligible to apply for this FDA retail food safety collaboration grant?
Eligible applicants are state, local, tribal, and territorial government agencies responsible for food safety regulation and enforcement. Food regulatory authorities and their authorized representatives working in retail food safety oversight can apply.
What types of activities does this grant support?
The grant supports collaborative projects including inter-agency coordination, development of harmonized food safety standards, training programs, technical assistance initiatives, and capacity-building efforts to strengthen retail food safety programs.
Are there matching fund requirements?
Specific match requirements vary by funding opportunity announcement. Check the detailed solicitation for match expectations and whether cost-sharing is required or recommended.
How competitive is this grant?
FDA retail food safety grants are moderately competitive. Success depends on demonstrating clear collaborative goals, strong partnerships among regulatory agencies, and alignment with FDA's retail food safety priorities.
What is the typical funding range?
Funding amounts vary by year and specific funding announcement. Consult the formal Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) posted by FDA for current fiscal year funding levels and award ranges.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Demonstrate strong multi-agency collaboration: Show how your project brings together state, local, and/or tribal partners with complementary strengths and shared food safety goals. Document memoranda of understanding or formal partnerships.
- Align with FDA's retail food safety priorities: Review FDA's current strategic priorities on topics like produce safety, seafood HACCP, or food defense. Frame your collaboration to address identified regulatory gaps or emerging food safety issues.
- Include clear capacity-building outcomes: Articulate specific, measurable improvements to food safety regulatory capacity, such as standardized inspection protocols, enhanced agency coordination systems, or training programs with defined participant targets.
- Provide a realistic budget and timeline: Federal grants require detailed budget justification tied to specific deliverables and activities. Include personnel costs, travel, training development, and evaluation expenses with clear milestone timelines.
- Build in sustainability and dissemination plans: Explain how collaborative improvements will be sustained beyond the grant period and how results and lessons learned will be shared with other regulatory agencies or food safety programs.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Applications often fail by proposing vague collaborative goals without documented agency partnerships or clear division of responsibilities. Many proposals lack specific, measurable outcomes tied to retail food safety improvements, making it difficult for reviewers to assess impact. Additionally, applicants frequently underestimate the complexity of multi-agency coordination and fail to address potential implementation barriers, timeline delays, or sustainability challenges in the post-grant period.
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