The following types of organizations are eligible for this grant:

1. For-profit, District-based food system businesses with 25 full time employees (FTE) employees or fewer. Businesses that are processing, producing, or serving food or beverages. Businesses must attest to being independently and/or locally owned, having headquarters in the District, and having the majority of operations (measured by assets, gross receipts, or employees) in the District.
2. Nonprofits that will be directly managing shared infrastructure or programming for one or more businesses that meet criteria in 4.1. Nonprofits will need to submit letters of support signed by each partner business including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Employer Identification Number (EIN) and business license number for each business partner.

Application Restrictions

Applications must be made through the online portal. DSLBD will not accept applications submitted via hand delivery, email, mail, or courier service. DSLBD will not review late submissions or incomplete applications.

• Only applications submitted through the online system will be accepted. No application materials will be accepted outside of the application system or past the deadline.
• DSLBD will collect additional data from applicants for the purpose of assessing the grant program design and program equity. These questions will not have a bearing on an applicant’s eligibility.
• If a business submits multiple applications, only the most recent application submitted will be considered.
• It is recommended that applications be submitted at least 24-48 hours before the final deadline -- February 7, 2022 at 2 pm -- to ensure that you can resolve any technical difficulties if they arise. DSLBD will not accept late applications for any reason.
• Review the entire RFA before applying.

Funding Restrictions

Grant funds have several allowed uses and several restricted uses. The “Period of Performance” is March 1, 2022 through September 30, 2022. All expenses funded by this grant must occur during this time.

The proposed use of funds must be accepted by DSLBD and may not be used for any of the disallowed uses below. DSLBD will consider uses that support your business.

Allowed Expenses: DSLBD will explicitly allow grant reimbursement for expenses for the applicant business that cover:

1. Refrigeration or freezing infrastructure along with other food storage infrastructure: must verify that the expense can decrease food waste and/or increase food donation.
2. Food distribution containers for food donation: individual or larger containers.
3. Staff or consultants to redesign menu to maximize ingredient cross-utilization.
4. Packaging, labeling, and/or marketing to promote a new line of upcycling food that otherwise would be wasted.
5. Measurement software, scales, or other tools to measure and track food waste.
6. Software to track inventory or food waste, such as Lean Path.
7. On-site waste processing: can include composters, dehydrators, shredders, or compactors, as well as essential associated installation costs.
8. Food waste collection infrastructure or food waste collection fees.
9. Transportation logistics to enable food donation, transporting food scraps to another food processing site.
10. Other costs DSLBD determines are acceptable.

Disallowed Expenses: The grant funds cannot be used for any of the following:

1. Expenses incurred before March 1, 2022 or after September 30, 2022.
2. Expenses that are reimbursed by a different grant from DC Government.
3. Assistance to bring legal charges against the District of Columbia.
4. Any interior or exterior construction not permitted by DC Code.
5. Any undocumented expense.
6. Any expense deemed by DSLBD to be for a purpose outside the purpose and mission of the grant.