[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 216 (Friday, November 12, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62772-62773]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-24662]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request: Additional Information To Be Collected Under the 
Uniform Grant Application Package for Discretionary Grant Programs for 
the WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program Benefit Delivery 
Modernization (FMNP BDM) Grants

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This Notice announces that the United States Department of 
Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) plans to add WIC 
Farmers' Market Nutrition Program Benefit Delivery Modernization (FMNP 
BDM) Grants, as authorized under Section 1106 of the American Rescue 
Plan Act (ARPA) (Pub. L. 117-2), to its list of approved programs under 
the Uniform Grant Application for Non-Entitlement Discretionary Grants, 
as approved under OMB Control Number: 0584-0512 (Expiration Date: July 
31, 2022); and that FNS intends to collect additional information for 
FMNP BDM Grants outside of what is currently in the uniform package. 
This Notice solicits public comments on the additional information to 
be collected for the FMNP BDM Grants.

DATES: (if applicable): To be assured of consideration, written 
comments must be submitted or postmarked on or before December 13, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection 
of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions 
of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions that

[[Page 62773]]

were used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on those who are to respond.
    Comments must be submitted through one of the following methods:
     Preferred method: Submit information through the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submissions.
     Email: Send comments to [email protected] with a 
subject line ``FMNP Benefit Delivery Modernization Information 
Collection.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca Rash on behalf Sarah Widor, 
Supplemental Food Programs Division, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, Virginia 
22314, 703-305-2937, or email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The United States Department of 
Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is establishing a 
new grant program for State agencies that administer the WIC Farmers' 
Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) aimed at modernizing benefit delivery 
and reducing disparities in program delivery, under the authorization 
and funding provided in section 1106 of the American Rescue Plan Act 
(ARPA) (Pub. L. 117-2).
    The WIC FMNP Benefit Delivery Modernization (FMNP BDM) Grants will 
be offered in multiple rounds. As planned, $1 million to $5 million 
will be offered to State agencies in early 2022 for the first round of 
grants to support the modernization of FMNP benefit delivery by 
supporting the transition from a paper-based benefit to an electronic, 
mobile benefit solution readily available in the marketplace.
    For the first round of grant funding, eligible entities will submit 
an application using FNS' Uniform Grant Application for Discretionary 
Grant Programs (OMB Control Number: 0584-0512, Expiration Date: July 
31, 2022), which will include up to ten additional questions related to 
the goals of the FMNP BDM Grant. These questions will be outlined in 
the Request for Applications for the FMNP BDM Grant. State agencies 
will have the option to use any format to answer the questions. The 
additional questions included will relate to how FMNP State agencies 
will utilize FMNP BDM grant funding and how the State agency's project 
will: (1) Implement and support an existing mobile WIC FMNP solution, 
which will modernize benefit delivery for State agencies, participants, 
and farmers and farmers' markets; and (2) increase FMNP benefit 
utilization. This will include submission of data about number of 
participants, current benefit level, number of authorized farmers/
markets, and number of local agencies. Additional information that 
State agencies will need to provide includes a letter of commitment 
from the anticipated provider of the electronic benefit delivery 
system, the names of any State agencies participating if part of a 
consortium grant, how the implementation will satisfy applicable 
privacy and data security standards, and other information that ensures 
the proposed use of the grant complies with current program 
regulations.
    To measure impact of the grants and to determine whether the grants 
achieve their intended purposes, grantees will be required to provide 
narrative, semiannual progress reports using the FNS-908 Performance 
Progress Report (PPR) form, as a condition to accepting grant funding. 
On the semiannual FNS-908 PPR, grantees will also be asked to respond 
to six questions related to progress made toward achieving the goals of 
the grant program. These questions may include updates to any data 
submitted in the grant application. The six additional questions will 
be outlined in the Request for Applications for the FMNP BDM Grants.
    With the additional information that will be requested, FNS 
estimates that each State agency will spend a total of approximately 
59.33 hours completing the full grant application package. Under 0584-
0512, FNS has 109,667 remaining burden hours and 21,835 remaining 
responses available for use. Under the FMNP BDM Grant, State agencies 
are expected to use 4,792.73 burden hours and 1,377 responses for the 
pre-award, post-award and recordkeeping burden, including the 
additional information to be collected. All three items make up the 
burden for the competitive grants that are submitted under 0584-0512.
    The purpose of this Notice is to solicit public comments on the 
additional information to be collected for the FMNP BDM Grants through 
the ten question application questionnaire and through the six question 
semiannual progress reports for the grant program. Comments are invited 
on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy 
of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of 
information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
that were used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden 
of the collection of information on those who are to respond.
    FNS will utilize these comments to adjust the information 
collection as necessary.

Cynthia Long,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-24662 Filed 11-10-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P