its design and implementation. While an applicant may select the program category (Access, Self-Help, Food Supply, Crisis Relief, and Nutrition and Consumer Education) which best meets the needs of the poor in the community served, the element of advocacy should always be a part of whatever category is selected. Advocacy efforts should focus upon articulating the views and needs of the poor to the public at large but, more particularly, to those institutions and organizations which have the ability or responsibility to serve the poor. Advocacy efforts should not only include speaking on behalf of the poor, but helping the poor to articulate their own needs and to participate in activities which are designed to assure that the benefits to which the poor are entitled are provided. Advocacy should be aimed at initiating new programs to benefit the poor as well as improving and expanding existing ones.

(d) All CFNP projects will be expected to conform to as many of the purposes of Title II programs as possible (listed below in § 1061.50-6 of this subpart). Subpart § 1067.4 of this chapter requires that each project contribute to the achievement of one or more purposes. CSA is requiring that CFNP grantees meet at least three general purposes and one specific purpose of Title II programs. Applicants are advised that the rating criteria (see Appendices B through F) include three of the six purposes.

(3) Maximum Feasible Participation. Maximum feasible participation of the poor in the development and implementation of all projects designed to serve the poor;

(4) Mobilization of Resources. Broadened resource base of programs directed to the elimination of poverty so as to include all elements of the community able to influence the quality and quantity of services to the poor;

(5) Innovative Approaches. Greater use of new types of services and innovative approaches in attacking causes of poverty, so as to develop increasing ly effective methods of employing resources;

(6) Maximum employment Opportunities. Employment of the poor, including opportunity for further occupational training and career development, in the programs and projects administered to serve the poor.

(b) The following are legislativelymandated purposes of the Community Food and Nutrition Program (Specific Standards of Effectiveness):

(1) Improvement in the nutritional status of the target population.

(2) Reduction in hunger among the target population.

§ 1061.50-7 Program categories.

The categories eligible for funding under the Community Food and Nutrition Program are described below and are listed in priority order.

(a) Access. Access activities are focused on the public sector and are aimed at improving the opportunities for low-income people to gain access to, and participate in, food and nutrition programs sponsored by the federal, state and local governments and at making sure that these programs operate effectively, efficiently and fairly. They also seek to involve the poor in shaping public policies which have an effect upon the nutritional status of the poor. Activities eligible for funding under the "access" category include, but are not limited to:

(1) The monitoring of programs conducted by other agencies and in particular monitoring the implementation by USDA and state and local governments of the Food Stamp Act of 1977,

in order to insure compliance with relevant federal and state statutes and regulations;

(2) Seeking changes in federal and state statutes and regulations to insure a more equitable distribution of food and nutrition benefits to the poor;

(3) Stimulating through consultation with parents, school administrators and other officials, the establishment or expansion of various federally funded food programs such as; the School Breakfast and School Lunch Programs, the WIC Program, the Summer Food Service Program for Children, the Nutrition Program for the Elderly, etc.

(4) Participating with a state in the development of state plans, certification manuals, etc., for food and nutrition programs;

(5) Building coalitions to make possible community input into the improvement and implementation of programs which improve the nutritional status of low-income persons;

(6) Initiating, or stimulating the formation of, community education programs aimed at apprising low-income persons of their entitlements under federal and non-federal food programs;

(7) Stimulating efforts to provide the poor with assistance in prescreening and application procedures and with adequate representation in administrative hearings, etc.;

(8) Initiating or stimulating the formation of feeding programs (e.g., Meals on Wheels) which are urgently needed and are not being provided in the community, on the condition that significant mobilization of other resources and early spin-off of the project to a more appropriate agency is included in the application;

(9) Designing and carrying out strategies for obtaining matching funds for new and existing projects supported from CFNP funds, and for spinning off such projects to other agencies (e.g. projects funded under HEW and USDA such as Title XX or food stamp outreach);

(10) Catalyzing an expanded and more effective outreach program on the part of other agencies; (See discussion on outreach in Appendix A).

(b) Self-Help. Self-Help activities are those which are aimed at improving the ability of low-income people to produce, preserve, purchase or market their own foodstuffs. These foodstuffs may and often do supplement those provided by federal feeding programs or by private sector institutions.

NOTE: Applicants for Self-Help projects which by design should ultimately become self-sustaining, e.g., food co-ops, buying clubs, and canneries, should include in their applications specific plans for the eventual phase-out of CFNP funding.

Activities eligible for funding under this category include but are not limited to:

(1) Conservation, distribution and utilization of foodstuffs, such as:

(i) Organizing family and community gardens;

and

(ii) Organizing food co-ops buying clubs (See discussion in Appendix A on the National Consumer Cooperative Bank);

(iii) Establishing greenhouses, canneries, etc.;

(iv) Organizing food gleaning campaigns (Note: A number of states have passed legislation providing a tax benefit for small unincorporated farmers who donate excess produce to organizations serving the low-income population, while similar legislation is being proposed in Congress).

(v) Organizing efforts in which the food produced by small local farmers is purchased and utilized in other federal feeding programs, e.g, School Breakfast, School Lunch, Day Care, WIC, Summer Feeding, etc.;

(vi) Initiating "farmer to market" projects in which the food produced by small farmers is made available to the poor at lower prices;

(vii) Undertaking efforts to allow small farmers and food co-ops to accept, and non-profit organizations serving the poor to issue, food stamps; (2) Activities which support self-help projects such as:

(i) Mobilizing the resources of state agriculture departments, land grant colleges, co-op extension services, USDA (e.g., the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service), VISTA, CETA, etc., for obtaining

seeds, plants, land, water and information;

(ii) Cooperating with land grant and other colleges to provide more assistance to small-scale (even part-time) growers, etc.;

(iii) Promoting the utilization of unused federal, state, and local land for food production by the poor.

(c) Food Supply. The category of Food Supply denotes activities aimed at the private sector whose purpose is to involve the poor more directly in the food distribution process, to encourage the food industry and other elements of the private sector to become more involved in and supportive of efforts to help solve the nutritional problems of the poor, and to make more nutritious food available at lower prices. Activities eligible for funding under this category include, but are not limited to:

(1) Developing and seeking to get adopted innovative proposals to increase the amount of food available to the poor;

(2) Seeking changes in laws and regulations that impede the involvement of the poor in food production, processing, distribution, etc.;

(3) Organizing consumer action relating to public and private sector food policies and food sales, e.g., mobilizing public and private support for the elimination of food sales taxes;

(4) Establishing focd banks which serve as clearinghouses for food donated by private industry for redistribution to the poor and encouraging focd producers, processors, wholesalers and retailers to contribute food to such banks;

(5) Encouraging food retailers to join with city governments and community-based groups to bring supermarkets back to the inner-city through mutual development ventures, special tax and/or other municipal incentives;

(6) Enlisting food retailers in conducting training programs to sensitize food store employees to the needs and problems of food stamp shoppers so as to reduce the intimidation and inconvenience often caused such persons; (7) Encouraging food wholesalers and retailers to hire the poor;

(8) Encouraging industry to help limit unnecessary cost to consumers by adopting more responsible packaging and advertising practices, such as: (i) Making available a variety of inexpensive, quality foods in order to promote optimum nutrition among the poor;

(ii) Making available food in smaller packages at more reasonable prices for the elderly, single and single parent households;

(9) Getting retailers to adopt and support innovative approaches to marketing, such as mobile markets, transporation to existing outlets for those who need it, stocking locally-produced foods, etc.;

(10) Enlisting the support of retailers for the establishment of consumer monitoring and advisory panels which reflect the needs and opinions of all sectors of the community.

(d) Crisis Relief. To improve community crisis relief mechanisms. Activities eligible for funding under this category include but are not limited to:

(1) Organizing food pantries and emergency food box projects;

(2) Negotiating for improvement in public welfare systems for distributing, in natural disasters and widespread emergency circumstances, Emergency Food Stamps, WIC packages or vouchers, USDA commodities, local food bank resources, etc. Among federal agencies the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in conjunction with the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration, is responsible for the delivery of foodstuffs to needy households in disasters and other wide-spread emergencies.

(3) Assisting communities to improve their crisis relief programs so that those most in need will receive swift relief;

(4) Providing foodstuffs directly and/or issuing food vouchers, but only if at least one of the following conditions is satisfied:

(i) There is a temporary individual or family emergency and timely help is not forthcoming from other agencies or,

(ii) The provision of relief is a catalytic effort which includes a plan to establish a community-based entity which will provide such services in the

future, or a plan to transfer the activities, within a specified period of time, to an agency which already has an assigned responsibility for providing foodstuffs, vouchers, etc. to the poor. A commitment from such an agency to take over the project should be included in the application, if possible.

(e) Nutrition and Consumer Education. To improve, through catalytic activity in the area of nutrition and consumer education, the ability of lowincome individuals and families to understand the connection between diet and health, to obtain at the lowest prices nutritionally superior foods and to prepare and preserve these foods in ways that minimize the loss of nutrients. Activities eligible for funding under this category include but are not limited to:

(1) Developing and demonstrating new and more effective techniques for communicating nutritional information to the poor;

(2) Stimulating the establishment by other agencies or institutions of educational programs to acquaint the lowincome public with the potential benefits of altering food preparation and eating habits in the light of the "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" promulgated recently by USDA and DHEW. (Copies of a pamphlet containing these guidelines can be obtained from the Home Economic Extension Agent in your county's Agricultural Extension Office);

(3) Stimulating the establishment of educational programs to improve the ability of low-income individuals and families to understand written guidance on food selection and to make comparisons between foods based on nutrition labeling and price;

(4) Engaging in advocacy efforts to induce federal agencies such as USDA and HEW to design new (and redesign existing) nutrition and consumer education programs so they are more responsive to the needs of low-income consumers;

(5) Devising and carrying out strategies to insure that state nutrition education plans address the needs of children, teachers, and food service workers in schools and low-income communities and that advisory councils set up to oversee state nutritional educa

tion programs include representatives of the poor;

(6) Engaging in advocacy efforts to induce such private organizations as the American Dietetic Association, American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association etc., to direct more of their nutrition education to the poor, and to coordinate such activities with CSA's CFNP network;

(7) Engaging in research to determine the status and quality of nutrition efforts aimed at the poor, identify gaps in those efforts, and recommend ways in which CSA, CAA's and CFNP grantees should be involved in nutrition education.

§ 1061.50-8 Eligible participants.

(a) All activities supported from CFNP funds must be targeted on lowincome individuals and families as defined in CSA Income Poverty Guidelines (See § 1061.2 of this chapter). It is important to stress this since in the case of some programs, such as the Food Stamp Program and the National School Lunch Program, the persons eligible for benefits form a larger group than those who fall within CSA poverty guidelines. In such cases, the rule of thumb should be that a majority of the individuals or families served are within CSA guidelines.

(b) Individuals are eligible to participate upon a self-declaration of need without the delay of a "means test" or income investigation. Self-declaration of need makes possible immediate assistance for those suffering from hunger and in danger of malnutrition. § 1061.50-9 Eligible applicant.

(a) General Community Projects. (1) Section 222(a) of the Economic Opportunity Act states that the Director shall provide financial assistance “. in a manner that will encourage, wherever feasible, the inclusion of assisted projects in community action programs. . ." (emphasis added). In addition, Section 222(a)(1) of the Act requires that the Director carry out the CFNP "... in a manner that will insure the availability of . . . supplies and services, nutritional foodstuffs and related services through a commu

nity action agency where feasible, or other agencies and organizations if no such (community action) agency exists or is able to administer the program) (emphasis and parentheses

added).

(2) Therefore Community Action Agencies (CAA's) will be regarded as prime sponsors of projects utilizing general community funds. Any other organization desiring to operate a project in a geographical area served by a CAA must do so as a delegate agency of the CAA. If such organizations are unable to work out a delegate agency agreement with the CAA, then they may apply directly to the appropriate Regional Office of CSA. However, such applications will be considered only if the CAA does not submit a proposal, or submits a proposal which is not funded. (The deadline for submission of applications by prospective delegate agencies outlined in paragraph 2 of this chapter do not apply to this program.)

(3) Other public and private, nonprofit organizations, including SEOO's and CAP Associations, which meet CSA's general eligibility criteria may apply directly to the appropriate CSA Regional office for general community funds to operate projects in geographical areas not served by CAA's ("uncapped areas").

NOTE: CAA's are not precluded from operating projects outside their officially designated boundaries where they are otherwise legally permitted to do so.

Where no statewide anti-hunger coalition exists, a CAP Association may apply for General Community Funds to initiate and establish such a coalition. The CAP Association must, however, assure substantive participation by the poor and anti-hunger groups/ organizations in the planning, implementation and evaluation of the project. This may be done by (i) including representatives from these groups on the applicant's governing board, (ii) establishing an advisory committee which includes representatives of the poor and anti-hunger organizations, or (iii) establishing a delegate agency to administer the project whose governing board includes representatives of Community Action Agencies, the poor,

and anti-hunger organizations (See § 1062.200-4 of this chapter).

(4) State Economic Opportunity Offices (SEOO's) and CAP Associations may not apply as conduits for other applicants when the purpose or effect of such an arrangement is to allow those applicants to avoid the competitive process. As an exception to CSA's general policy, SEOO's and CAP Associations may apply as a conduit for other applicants within a state where the following conditions are met: (i) The applicant has CSA's written advance approval, (ii) the low income residents of the area to be served were involved in the planning of the project, and (iii) two or more of the following activities are carried out on a statewide basis: (A) Advocacy, (B) improved planning and coordination, and (C) mobilization of a broader range of resources. In such a case the complete work programs and budgets of the delegate applicants must be submitted to CSA along with the conduit application. These applications will then be reviewed, rated and ranked on a competitive basis like any other application, and they must receive a minimum score of 65 points in order to be considered eligible for funding. Likewise the work program and budget of the conduit will be rated and must receive a minimum score of 65 points.

(5) CAA's and anti-hunger groups are strongly encouraged to work together were possible. This can take the form of a CAA's delegating part or all of its work program to an antihunger group, or vice versa; close and systematic coordination on the part of both groups in the planning, implementation and evaluation of CFNP projects; and close collaboration in the development of state anti-hunger strategies. The formation of such alliances contributes to at least one of the general standards of effectiveness (planning and coordination) and in most cases will contribute to more.

NOTE: CAA's must indicate in their applications the efforts which have been undertaken to involve various community groups and organizations-including anti-hunger organizations-in the planning and implementation of their proposed activities. In the rating and ranking of applicants points will be given to applicants who furnish evi

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