Mobile Payments Solution for SNAP Authorized Farmers | USDA FNS SNAP FY24 SFMMA

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FNS SNAP FY24 SFMMA

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is offering a discretionary cooperative agreement called "Mobile Payments Solution for SNAP Authorized Farmers" (Funding Opportunity Number: USDA FNS SNAP FY24 SFMMA). The central aim is to improve how direct marketing farmers and farmers markets (often referred to as DMFs and FMs) accept SNAP benefits, especially by making it easier and more practical to take Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) payments in real-world, direct-to-consumer settings. SNAP benefits are delivered through EBT cards, and FNS oversees which retailers are allowed to accept those benefits, so this opportunity fits into FNS's broader responsibility to ensure SNAP access works smoothly and securely across different types of food retailers.

This grant builds on more than a decade of FNS efforts to expand SNAP acceptance among farmers selling directly to the public. While SNAP acceptance is already widespread across the retail landscape (around 260,000 authorized retailers), DMFs and FMs continue to face unique barriers such as inconsistent connectivity, equipment costs, and the practical challenges of processing EBT at pop-up or outdoor locations. Since 2012, FNS has supported these sellers by helping eligible farmers obtain low- or no-cost wireless EBT point-of-sale (POS) devices through the SNAP EBT Equipment Program. FNS has also invested in modern transaction options, including previous awards that supported an e-commerce platform for online SNAP acceptance and a smartphone-based mobile transaction processing application paired with a card reader, allowing a farmer to use a personal smartphone as the POS device. This new opportunity sits in that same lane: it is meant to further develop or expand mobile-friendly SNAP payment solutions that can be broadly useful to SNAP-authorized farmers.

The award is structured as a cooperative agreement, which generally means the agency expects substantial involvement during the project rather than a hands-off grant relationship. In practice, that typically signals ongoing coordination with FNS on development priorities, compliance needs, implementation decisions, and performance reporting, especially important when the work touches payment processing, retailer authorization, and program integrity. The funding activity category is Food and Nutrition (CFDA/Assistance Listing 10.545), reinforcing that the project is intended to strengthen nutrition access by improving the infrastructure that allows SNAP participants to use benefits to purchase eligible foods from farmers and farmers markets.

Eligibility is limited to domestic organizations that are either (1) nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status or (2) accredited institutions of higher education. Applicants must be owned, operated, and located within the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, Guam, or the U.S. Virgin Islands. FNS expects to make one award, with a maximum (ceiling) of $3,000,000, indicating this is designed as a single, potentially national-scale effort rather than many smaller subawards. The opportunity was created on July 2, 2024, and the original application closing date is August 15, 2024.

In plain terms, this is a sizable, single-award funding opportunity for an eligible nonprofit or university to help advance a mobile payments approach that makes SNAP EBT acceptance easier for farmers who sell directly to customers. The broader policy goal is straightforward: reduce the friction that keeps SNAP shoppers from using their benefits at farmers markets and farm stands, and help farmers reliably accept SNAP in more settings, using modern tools that fit how direct marketing actually works.

• The Food and Nutrition Service in the food and nutrition sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Mobile Payments Solution for SNAP Authorized Farmers" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.545.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-07-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-08-15. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA FNS SNAP FY24 SFMMA

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