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  5. Retail Association Cooperative Agreement
  1. Grants and Cooperative Agreements

Retail Association Cooperative Agreement

What is the Retail Association cooperative agreement?

This cooperative agreement provides funding to a national association/organization to develop, implement, and manage a funding program in which state, local, tribal, and territorial retail food regulatory programs can apply and be sub awarded funds for completion of projects and training to enhance conformance with the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (VNRFRPS or Retail Program Standards.)

What are the goals of this cooperative agreement?  

The following are the goals of this cooperative agreement:

  • State, local, tribal, and territorial retail food regulatory programs achieve greater conformance with the VNRFRPS, which promotes uniformity and advances the National Integrated Food Safety System (IFSS).
  • Strategies for achieving and sustaining conformance with the Retail Program Standards are shared and duplicated by other agencies.
  • Retail food regulatory programs implement innovative intervention strategies to reduce the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors that are shared and duplicated by other agencies.
  • Additional resources further enhance state, local, tribal and territorial agencies' ability to improve and build upon existing programs.

Who is the current awardee?

The Association of Food & Drug Officials (AFDO) has been awarded this cooperative agreement.

What funding is available for state, local, tribal, and territorial regulatory retail food programs through this funding opportunity?

 Funds are subawarded in three categories:

  • Category 1: Small Projects (up to $3,000 per award) – The goal for this category is to provide funding for jurisdictions to complete a self-assessment of all nine standards, small projects related to meeting one or more standards, verification audits confirming the results of the jurisdiction’s self-assessment, or custom projects that increase a jurisdiction’s conformance with the standards.
  • Category 2: Moderate Projects ($10,000 to $20,000 per award) – Projects in this category should aim for completion of more ambitious projects that further conformance with the Retail Program Standards (computer software systems, risk factor studies, development of written compliance programs, training events, etc.). Applicants for this category must have a current self-assessment (within the last 5 years).
  • Category 3: Training (up to $3,000 per award) – The goal of this category is to provide funding for jurisdictions to send staff to training to meet the requirements of Standard 2 (Step 1 & 3 Curriculum or CEU maintenance) or to attend FDA regional seminars to maintain FDA standardization.

Who may I contact for more information?

For more information on the funding available to state, local, tribal, and territorial retail food regulatory jurisdictions through this cooperative agreement, please visit AFDO's Retail Program Standards Grant Portal.

Specific questions on this program can be directed to the appropriate Office of Partnerships' contact within the Division of Partnership Investments and Agreements. Please visit the Office of Partnerships Contacts webpage to obtain a downloaded version of the staffing roster. 

General questions can be directed to the Office of Partnerships' general mailbox: [email protected].

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