FFE promotes education, health, and food security for poor children in low-income countries that have low literacy and primary school completion rates. The program aims to reduce extreme poverty and hunger and advance literacy and universal primary education, which are the principal Millennium Development Goals. The FFE legislation encourages organizations to focus on girls since they tend to have low school attendance rates and education of girls benefits the entire family. Under this program, nutrition programs are also offered to undernourished mothers and their pre-school age children to improve the health and learning capacity of these children before they enter school.

FFE proposals should identify developmental goals for improving literacy and primary education (especially with girls). For example, the organization should include data on the current primary school attendance and completion rates for the target population, and explain how the proposed program will help to increase these rates. The organization should also delineate a plan for achieving sustainability of the school feeding program through the involvement of the government, local institutions and communities. For example, proposals should encourage partnerships via the donation of counterpart funding, in-kind materials, and labor and space to sustain project activities.

Proposals may also include a component that aims to improve the educational environment for students. For example, an organization may elect to provide teacher training, school supplies, or school rehabilitation. For maternal and child nutrition activities, the proposal should demonstrate how the program will improve the food security and nutritional status of the target population.

FAS reviews each proposal activity for impact and results. Proposals that provide the greatest impact per beneficiary will receive preference. FAS considers both the primary and secondary beneficiaries (e.g., household siblings and other community members) of the activities. At a minimum, each proposal must provide the number of beneficiaries targeted and the impact of the program on those beneficiaries. Examples of this include: value of outside contributions to the projects, number of school garden installations and their associated value; and per beneficiary cost to provide a school meal. FAS will also look at the intended outcomes of the program, for example, the percentage of children in school and the anticipated percentage of increase in attendance levels and progression rate changes. Proposals that contain clear impacts and outcomes will be more competitive.

For new programs, a country needs to meet the following criteria in order to be considered a priority country under the FFE program:

However, countries with existing programs will receive highest priority in FY 2009. USDA will retain other proposals and consider them for FY 2010 funding. The following countries are considered priorities FY 2009 and FY 2010:

Proposals must be submitted by August 1, 2008 to be considered for funding in fiscal years 2009 and 2010.

Yes, all proposals submitted to FAS will be evaluated and considered for funding. However, given our limited programming resources, the opportunities to fund programs in non-priority countries are extremely low. FAS will look to fund quality proposals in priority countries prior to considering any proposal for a non-priority country.

The only exception to priority country considerations is when FAS gives priority to proposals from organizations that have ongoing FFE programs in non-priority countries in an effort to support sustainability and graduation from U.S. assisted school feeding.

All proposals are sent to the appropriate FAS overseas office for their review and insights. Within the Food Assistance Division of FAS, each proposal is evaluated using the same criteria as follows:

A. Proposal Quality (38 percent). This section addresses three program issues: implementation, costs and situational analysis.

1. How will the applicant implement the program, specifically, will the applicant contribute its own or outside resources to achieve program goals? How will the applicant use program funds to implement and monitor the target goals of the program? How does the proposed commodity provide a food for targeted beneficiaries that augments calories or nutrients? How will monetization or barter be conducted and by whom, and is monetization or barter more appropriate than a cash outlay? Has the applicant addressed the customs exemption issue in the case of a direct feed program?
    

2. Is the proposal cost efficient in reaching a large number of recipients with the requested resources? If USDA resources are requested, do these funds effectively support an experienced management team which can implement, evaluate and monitor projected goals? Are the requested USDA funds appropriate for the proposed technical assistance, storage, distribution, or other pertinent program activities?

Does the proposal provide country information that explains and justifies the need for the proposed food aid programming? Do the targeted beneficiaries have a need that is not being met currently or sufficiently? Are there clear criteria and a persuasive rationale for the selection of a particular region, country and beneficiaries? Are the beneficiary baseline and target goals clear? Does the proposal target areas of a recipient country with the highest levels of poverty, hunger and low primary school enrollment rates, particularly of girls? Are the ideas in the proposal well developed and articulated?

B. Experience and Organizational Capacity Factors (20 percent). Does the proposal show the organization's capability and effectiveness in implementing previous food aid programs, particularly school feeding, maternal child health (MCH) or other developmental activities related to education in schools or MCH? FAS looks at the experience of the organization and evaluates the organization favorably if it has experience in providing food aid with its own resources, or, more importantly, those from other donors. FAS considers the experiences of providing food aid regardless of the source of funding. Past experiences with USDA, USAID, or other donors will be viewed positively. FAS also reviews lists of known terrorists to ensure no organization, nor recipient agency, is participating in or funding terrorist activities. A review of non-profit websites is also conducted to ensure the financial and technical capability of program applicants. Finally, FAS ensures that organizations new to the program have a fair chance in competing for funds.

C. Graduation/Sustainability--Country, Community, or Other Donor Contribution to Program (15 percent). Is there a plan for the host or local government to provide sufficient space and teachers for targeted schools? Does the local community provide food, space, labor and involvement in education or nutrition programs? Does the applicant commit resources that demonstrate a continuance of the program after FAS ends funding? Does the proposal contain a graduation plan with methods and timeline to sustain activities and achievements? Do governments or other donors provide financial or in-kind support of the proposed activity that helps continue the program beyond the years of the proposed program? Does the proposal describe what other stakeholders are doing to address poverty, hunger and deficient primary education in the recipient country, what needs remain, and how the proposed program complements and does not duplicate those activities?

D. Commodity or USDA Funds Appropriateness (15 percent). Has the organization identified commodities and tonnages appropriate for the country? Is adequate information provided about the distribution process, storage and handling of commodities? Has the organization clearly identified how the requested USDA funds will be used and how they will compliment the distribution of the commodities and lead to sustainability?

E. Need for Program (12 percent). Is the program need clearly substantiated with statistics on food deficits, malnutrition, literacy, and information regarding education resources? Does the recipient country demonstrate commitment to improving its quality of education and nutrition of school-aged or children under 5 years old?

After the initial evaluations, FAS undertakes additional reviews regarding the distribution of programs geographically.

FAS will review all of the proposals received, but organizations should recognize that the competition for resources is strong. Organizations are not likely to receive approval for a large number of proposals. In recent years, FAS has received about 80 proposals and is rarely able to approve more than 20 percent of these. Focused, clearly developed and well written proposals will fare better. Organizations submitting more than one proposal should submit a written priority list that ranks the proposals. This is helpful because the competitive nature of FFE renders approval of all proposals impossible.

Proposals for multi-year agreements, up to a maximum of three years, will be considered. Implementation of successive years will be subject to a favorable review of the program’s progress and the availability of funding.

All funding is contingent upon the President’s Budget request and authorization. FAS expects to receive $100 million of funding for the program in fiscal year 2009. FAS has committed about $70 million of this amount for ongoing programs. In addition, FAS has committed $45 million for FY 2010 for multi-year programs. Funds made available for the FFE program must cover all associated costs to the program, including commodity, transportation, activities, direct and indirect costs of the organization.

FAS, Congress, and other overseers of the program are strongly encouraging the establishment of sustainable programs. FAS will give priority to continuations of programs that are making acceptable progress towards sustainability. FAS tries to maintain a mix of old and new programs to help as many children as possible and to have transitions of projects in and out of the program.

In making the final decisions, FAS will consider the need for educational assistance through food aid, sustainability, and impact. Proposals that address these three factors most thoroughly will receive priority consideration.

An organization can request commodities for monetization as long as the organization also provides a detailed justification for the need to monetize. The organization must show that monetization provides more benefits than a direct cash outlay through the financial assistance that USDA can provide. Additionally, all Food for Education proposals that contain requests for monetization or barter, are reviewed by the analysts in the Office of Global Analysis of FAS. This review helps minimize commercial market disruptions. The analysts calculate the Usual Marketing Requirements (UMR) and allowable programming limits for each commodity within a destination country. Organizations should consult the program's regulations for more information on this question. Most FFE programs do not involve monetization.

No. Commodities are expected to be part of the assistance that is provided through each proposal. Cash can be requested as supplemental assistance to enhance the implementation of the feeding program.

Possibly, but funding limitations and strong demand for the program reduce the likelihood. FAS is not likely to fund a project from a second organization if FAS is already funding a program in the country, and the program is not scheduled to graduate from the program in the near future. The possibilities are higher if the existing program is in its final year of funding.