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Equipment Grants Overview

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Edible Food Recovery Equipment Grants Overview

Capital Food Access Alliance (CFAA) Overview:

The cities of Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Galt, Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Sacramento, and the County of Sacramento have come together to develop the Capital Food Access Alliance (CFAA) to support food recovery in the Sacramento region. CFAA is a collaborative and coordinated effort to recover food that would otherwise be wasted and use it to feed people instead. Efforts include, but are not limited to, increasing education about California’s SB 1383 Regulations, which require some businesses to recover edible food and arrange for composting services.

The Capital Food Access Alliance has selected Abound Food Care to lead the edible food recovery programs in the region, including administering the edible food recovery capacity grants. Abound Food Care is a non-profit organization that works collaboratively with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to facilitate the recovery of excess edible food effectively and efficiently.

The goals of this grant program include the following:

  •  Increase the capacity of local organizations and businesses operating within the County of Sacramento to recover and distribute edible food.
  • Collect data on the impact of funds awarded on increasing the amount of food safely recovered and/or distributed by food recovery organizations and services.
  • Collect data on trends related to food waste and food recovery.
  • Ensure food safety in food recovery and distribution.
  • Improve the region’s ability to respond to and comply with SB 1383 mandates by increasing capacity, thereby enabling businesses to donate the maximum amount of edible food that would otherwise be disposed of.

 

Food Recovery Equipment Grants:

CFAA is launching a grant program to support the purchase of equipment. Eligible agencies may apply for one grant, which has a designated funding allocation between $5,000 and  $25,000.

CFAA will provide technical assistance to prospective recipients. An Abound Food Care representative will be available for any questions about the application process and eligibility.

Funds must directly benefit food recovery efforts in the Sacramento County region. This grant does not require matching funds or cost-sharing. Collaborative applications involving multiple nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are encouraged and will be prioritized. Previous recipients are eligible to apply.

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Eligibility Requirements

Any non-profit organization, business, or public entity operating within the cities of Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Galt, Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Sacramento and/or the Unincorporated areas of Sacramento County that collects and/or distributes recovered edible food. 

  • Applicants must fill out and submit a W9 to receive any awarded funds. 
  • Applicants must submit at least one (1) quote for requested capital expenditures with their application. 
  • Funds must solely benefit food recovery efforts in the Sacramento County region.
  • Awardees must complete all Grant Awardee Required Activities.
  • Awardees must track data and outcomes during the entire grant period for report submission.
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Application Requirements

Budget Request

The application requires total grant funds requested to fund equipment and supplies. Applicants will be asked to further specify these expenses, including clarification of items/tasks and the budgeted cost associated.

Quotes and Purchasing Process 

Abound Food Care will use the specifications provided in quotes to seek the best available price for requested items. Upon application approval, a member of Abound’s team will collaborate with you through this process to ensure your specifications are met and confirm the purchasing and delivery process. 

Eligible Expenses:

  • Refrigerators & Freezers
  • Pallet Jacks, Hand-trucks & Carts
  • Storage Bins & Containers
  • Scales
  • Thermometers 
  • Food Safety Training 
  • Charitable Feeding Registration
  • Staff time for grant administration (Can only be 15% of total budget request)

 

Food Recovery Services:

Please see the Grant Awardee Requirements section for more information about these activities.

  • Measure food waste (by weighing discards or estimation by waste collection services)
  • Completion of Food Safety Requirements
  • Attend a one-hour feedback meeting
  • Completion of the final report 

Ineligible Expenses:

  • Purchase or leasing of buildings or properties 
  • Construction  
  • Purchase of food
  • Expenses incurred before or after the grant term 
  • Purchase or lease of vehicles and/or related expenses
  • Any items that do not directly increase food recovery capacity 
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Timeline

Public comment period will be opened March 31, 2025 through April 6, 2025. The initial application cycle for this Edible Food Recovery Equipment program will be open from April 14, 2025 through July 1, 2025. The Capital Food Access Alliance will review applications once per month, which means your application will be reviewed within 60 days. 

If your application requires revisions or further clarification, we will contact you as soon as possible to provide feedback and assistance. If your application is approved for award, you will receive an email detailing the next steps. Abound Food Care will continue to work with equipment grant recipients to complete the Awardee Required Activities and Reports in your grant term.

Application Assistance

Abound Food Care is available to assist you with your application or answer questions. You can also request a virtual meeting by email at: [email protected] or submit a request through the public comment page on the website.

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Grant Awardee Requirements

Awardees must complete the following activities during the grant term. A brief description of these activities is provided in the sections below.

(*specific to food recovery services/organizations)

  • Complete the Food Safety Requirements. * 
  • Complete the Edible Food Recovery Capacity survey with Abound Food Care. *
  • Complete a feedback meeting with Abound Food Care.
  • Report a quantification of inedible food waste.
  • Track and record specified data in the application and agreement.

If your organization or business does not currently have the resources to complete grant requirements, you may request funds for materials and/or support to fulfill these requirements. For example, if your organization does not currently use scales to weigh food, you may request grant funds to purchase scales to track and report this data. 

Food Safety Requirements

Please visit Sacramento County Environmental Health, Environmental Management Division (EMD)’s website for more information about Food Safety Training. For the Edible Food Recovery Equipment, awardees must complete the following food safety-related requirements. 

  • Awardees must maintain current food handlers’ certifications. 
  • Awardees must maintain a current health permit or registration.
  • Capital Food Access Alliance may waive this requirement in lieu of an approved accredited Food Safety Certification: Awardees must attend an EMD Food Safety Education Class. This food safety class is taught by staff of the Environmental Health Division. This class covers the basic principles of food safety, including time/temperature control, personal hygiene, food contamination and facility sanitation. Abound Food Care will assist you with coordinating your availability for specific dates and times of upcoming classes. 
  • Awardees must be in good standing with their most recent EMD inspection. 

 

Food Waste Tracking

Awardees must report a quantification of inedible food waste received and disposed of. The goal of this is for Capital Food Access Alliance to learn more about the trends in donations of inedible food so that we may identify opportunities for enhancing generator education and/ or providing additional support to recovery organizations and services. We highly encourage weighing food waste. The second most preferred method of assessment is to report your organic waste service levels and provide photos of how full the organics container is before collection day. Awardees may also propose their own alternative methods of quantification.

Report

Awardees are required to provide a final report as detailed in your agreement. The report is due at the completion of your grant term.  A final grant agreement may include revised or additional reporting requirements based on your proposed project and application.

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Application Questions

SECTION 1: APPLICANT INFORMATION

  1. Applicant Name(Required)
  2. Organization Name(Required)
  3. Organization or Business Type(Required)
  4. Tax ID Number(Required)
  5. Applicant Email(Required)
  6. Applicant Phone(Required)
  7. Applicant Address(Required)
  8. Street Address
  9. How many locations do you have in Sacramento County?(Required)
  10. Are all required business license(s) are valid and up to date?(Required)
  11. Are all required permits are valid and up to date?(Required)
  12. Upload W9(Required)
  13. Do staff members and volunteers maintain appropriate food handler or food safety manager certifications as necessary or required by state or local mandates?(Required)
    • Upload Food Safety Certificate(Required)
  14. Which areas do you serve?(Required)
  15. Briefly describe your organization and mission. (Required)
    • When describing your organization, let us know more about any Sacramento County locations other than those you included in previous address fields.

 

SECTION 2: CAPACITY QUESTIONS

  1. Do you collect food donations?(Required)
  2. Estimated number of pounds of edible food collected monthly(Required)
  3. Estimated number of pounds of edible food distributed monthly(Required)
  4. Estimated number of meals served monthly(Required)
  5. Estimated number of individuals served monthly(Required)
  6. Does your organization use scales to weigh incoming food donations?(Required)
  7. Does your organization use any software to track food donations or keep track of records?(Required)
  8. Briefly describe the method your organization will use to quantify inedible food waste.
    • Awardees must report a quantification of inedible food waste received and disposed of. We highly encourage weighing food waste. The second most preferred method of assessment is to report your organic waste service levels and provide photos of how full the organics container is before collection day. Awardees may also propose their own alternative methods of quantification.
  9. Does your organization work with Tier 1 Generators?
    • Tier 1 Generator: Supermarket, Grocery Store: total facility size equal to or greater than 10,000 sq. ft., Food service provider, Food distributor, Wholesale food vendor. See Funding Description Document for more detailed definitions.
  10. Does your organization work with Tier 2 Generators?
    • Tier 2 Generator: Restaurants with 250+ seats, or a total facility size equal to or greater than 5,000 sq. ft., Hotel with an on-site food facility and 200+ rooms, Health facility with an on-site food facility and 100+ beds, Large venue, Large event, State agency with cafeteria with 250+ seats or total facility size equal to or greater than 5,000 sq. ft., Local education agency with on-site food facility. See Funding Description Document for more detailed definitions.
  11. Days and Hours Open for Distribution

 

SECTION 3: PROPOSAL INFORMATION

  1. Briefly describe the project you plan to implement using this funding. Please include a description of your collaboration with any other organizations or entities as it relates to your project plan.
  2. Briefly describe how this funding will benefit your organization in increasing your capacity to accept more food donations and/ or distribute more food.
  3. Upload Completed Budget Table
  4. Upload Obtained Quote(s)

 

Section 4: Proposal Submission

Please check boxes to confirm your commitment to completing the following activities during your grant period.

  • Funds will solely benefit Sacramento County and affiliated cities.
  • Use current scales, or purchase scales with funds requested, to weigh food donations.
  • Track distribution data.
  • Track waste data.
  • Provide reports upon request (to be detailed in your agreement).
  • Complete Food Safety Requirements.
  • Attending at least one feedback meeting with Abound Food Care.