On July 29, 2025, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) issued a Program Instruction (PI), One-time Supplemental Funds for Nutrition and Healthy Eating for Head Start Children and Families ACF-OHS-PI-25-02, providing a description of supplemental funding that will be available to Head Start programs and how to apply. While there will be a webinar offered on Monday, August 4 to learn more about the process for requesting supplemental funds, we strongly encourage interested applicants to begin preparing now as there is a quick turnaround deadline (August 22) and it is unclear how long funding will be available. Here are a few ways you can prepare.
Determine your proposed uses of funding while being mindful of allowable expenses.
As described in a July 29 press release from ACF, funding may be used in four areas: food service upgrades; materials, supplies, and equipment; nutrition education resources, and non-recurring personnel costs. Funding requests must fall within these categories.
Food Service Upgrades:Modernizing kitchen facilities, procuring fresh and locally sourced foods, and creating designated breastfeeding spaces
Materials, Supplies, and Equipment:Providing commercial-grade appliances, food preparation tools, and gardening supplies for farm-to-table initiatives
Nutrition Education Resources:Developing nutrition programming and curricula, and hosting workshops for families on nutrition and wellness topics
Non-Recurring Personnel Costs:Consulting with specialized staff such as registered dieticians and nutritionists to develop meal plans and provide nutrition counseling
A more detailed list is provided in the PI, though it is important to note that it is a non-exhaustive list of how funding can be used. In other words, while examples are provided, there may be other allowable uses of funding that could be approved. You should use your community assessment, self-assessment, and other assessments of needs to determine how you might use the funding.
Get your data ready. Be prepared to justify any proposed expenses with a description of need.
As with any federal funding request, your proposed expenses will need to be justified. The PI suggests programs “engage in an assessment of programmatic and community nutrition and health needs that considers the immediate, interim, and long-term impacts and associated costs.” Additionally, the PI states that “awards will be based on how effectively the proposed model design fits the needs of the community to be served.”
You might already have some of the data you’ll need in your community assessment. Consider food insecurity, food deserts, WIC and SNAP access, and other indicators of nutrition needs in your service area. Look at family survey data. Have there been indicated needs for food assistance, nutrition training, or nutrition services? Explore partnerships. What can be formed or built upon to improve outcomes for children and families? Given the short turnaround on this application, we recommend first considering the data and information you already have and then making a plan to collect everything else you will need to determine need and justify proposed uses of funding.
Consider how you will continue to pay for one-time expenses (if applicable), and prepare a statement describing how the funding is not duplicative of other sources (e.g., WIC, USDA).
Funding is for one-time use; it may not be used for recurring expenses. If there are expenses of a recurring nature, is expected that other funding will be used to continue these comprehensive nutrition services. And, proposed expenses may not duplicate other funding. This is stressed multiple times in the PI and you should include a statement in your application explicitly stating that funding is non-duplicative. We recommend thinking about how your program will leverage multiple funding sources to promote nutrition services and healthy eating for children and families.
Develop timelines and completion dates for each proposed activity/use. Tie this together with anticipated outcomes.
As you plan your funding uses, develop a timeline for each activity. Highlight the key milestones and completion dates. This information will be required in your application.
Additionally, the PI states that “applications should be specifically tied to nutrition and health outcomes for children and families, including enhancing healthy nutrition practices for participating families and children.” The highest quality applications will make clear connections between proposed activities and how they will lead to improved outcomes for children and families. Consider, when and how will you know your program was successful in its implementation of this supplemental funding? How will you measure that success – i.e., what data will you use?
Submitting a clear, justifiable, and timely application that advances nutrition services and healthy eating for enrolled children and families and is in alignment with federal nutrition priorities will likely increase the chances of your application being funded. If applying for funding, we recommend registering for the August 4 webinar being offered by OHS to learn more.
Foundations for Families offers a variety of consulting services to Head Start programs. If your program plans to apply for this one-time supplemental funding and needs assistance gathering data, determining needs, drafting an application, or designing a funding strategy, we may be able to help. Please reach out and we would be glad to discuss your program’s needs.
Thank you.
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