Food Literacy Center Grants

Food Literacy mini-grants will support food literacy & nutrition programming for North Carolina's public libraries. This opportunity will fund at least five $17,000 grants to public libraries to purchase mobile teaching kitchens, supplemental programming materials, and appropriate safety supplies. Food Literacy Center Mini-Grants supports Goal Two from North Carolina’s LSTA Five Year Plan; Expanding Access.

Guidelines

Eligible Libraries

Eligible libraries are public libraries that are eligible for the Aid to Public Libraries Fund and may submit one application.

Funds

Awards will be for up to $17,000, with no match required

Allowable costs

  • Pre-fabricated mobile kitchens
  • Food literacy curriculum kits
  • Additional kitchen supplies
  • Program supplies, including food items for the primary intent of teaching and learning.
  • Safety supplies
  • Marketing and advertising costs for the project

Unallowable costs

  • Snacks and refreshments
  • Promotional items and memorabilia including gifts, incentives, and souvenirs;
  • Ongoing expenditures such as subscriptions
  • General advertising or public relations costs not specific to the project
  • Additional costs

Important Dates

  • Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, November 15, 2022.
  • Awards will be announced December 1, 2022.
  • Projects must be completed by June 30, 2023.
  • Final reimbursement requests and the final report are due July 31, 2023.

Awarding Information

Only complete applications will be reviewed.  Complete applications include all required signatures and sections as described in the application. All awardees must have Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) through SAM.gov, as required by 2 CFR 25.300. Questions about your UEI? Email catherine.prince@ncdcr.gov for assistance

Reimbursement Information

  • All grants are awarded on a reimbursement basis
  • Eligible expenses will be invoiced, purchased and funds encumbered between the award execution date (once all parties have signed) and the final date for expenditures. 
  • If you are eligible for the sales tax refund under NCGS 105-164.14 you are not allowed to receive reimbursement for sales tax.  The NC Dept. Of Revenue will provide that refund as normal.  If you are not eligible for the sales tax refund, sales tax is an allowable cost.

Final Report Requirements

Participants are required to provide the State Library with a short narrative of items purchased and any programming planned. Please note, IMLS surveys may be required depending on activities of the project; see the Project Activities and Required Surveys.

Application

All grant applications will be submitted through the State Library of North Carolina's new Grants Management System (GMS). To learn more about the GMS, visit the SLNC Academy for GMS tutorials.

Applications will be reviewed on Need and Intended Audience, Plan, Overall Quality, Partners, and Project Outcome. Review the grant rubric for details on scoring.

Ready to start your application?

Apply Now!

For general questions, contact Jasmine Rockwell at 919-814-6798, jasmine.rockwell@ncdcr.gov.
For questions regarding the grant process, contact  lsta@ncdcr.gov.

This project is made possible by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (IMLS grant number LS-252476-OLS-22).