Vendor Requirements and Bid Thresholds FAQs
| Please be advised that this is not legal advice – check with your own sources as needed. This guidance is subject to change and was last updated on 11/19/24 |
| VENDOR REQUIREMENTS AND BID THRESHOLDS |
| Q1. How did WSDA determine the procurement rules for the under $10K and $10K-$250K scenarios? Is this where WSDA is comfortable taking on some risk because these rules are different than our auditors' interpretations of federal procurement rules. And, can these rules be added to our contract so when we get audited we can say we are following WSDA's contract? |
A1. They are the uniform guidance federal procurement rules. These rules are in a table in the LFPA contract. This was not a WSDA decision to decide what the federal procurement thresholds are. However, the federal uniform guidance rules also say that procurement rules must be consistent with state procurement rules, and/or not prohibited. WSDA developed a procurement policy for subrecipients of the LFPA grant which “adopted” the federal rules.
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| Q2. If a Subrecipient is spending a combination of federal funds from LFPA and different sources with the same Farmer/Vendor (ex., Farm to Food Pantry) and the combined amount is more than $10,001 (or more than $250,000), does the Subrecipient need to have a quote on file (or go through a bidding/proposal process)? |
| A2. We are seeking further guidance to answer this question. We would welcome feedback from you and your sources. |
| Q3. Do the rate quotes need to come from two different vendors? If so, how would we deal with the likely situation that there's not more than one farm producing a particular item? |
| A3. Quotes do need to come from two different vendors. The LFPA specifies that food must be purchased from Washington State, so if purchasing from your area becomes difficult, you can extend your search. You can also factor in things like delivery fees, timing/availability, etc. as you consider which bid to go with as long as your organization's procurement policies allow. |
| Q4. If an LFPA Subrecipient (“Contractor”) passes through funding to a Subawardee (“Subcontractor”), and the Subrecipient and Subawardee each purchase $5005 food from the same Farmer/Vendor during the contract period, would there be a quote requirement? |
| A4. The thresholds are specific to the organization doing the purchasing. So, if the Subawardee and Subrecipient are doing their own separate purchasing (including separate invoices, etc.), they can each spend $10,000 with a vendor before needing a quote on file – even if it’s the same vendor. |
| Q5. If we are passing funds to a Subawardee and they are buying from a specific farmer that we are also buying from, are the totals combined for in regard to the thresholds? |
| A5. As soon as you pass funds to subawardee (subcontractor) and they are responsible for doing their own procurement, that is now separate from your cumulative purchases from that farmer. |
| Q6. Are the Dollar Thresholds for different Procurement Methods (i.e., Micro-purchase, small purchase, sealed bid, or competitive proposal) specific to each Vendor-Subrecipient/Subawardee relationship? For example, if a farmer is receiving a total of $250,000, but they receive it from 25 Subawardees who each spend $10,000. Would there be any requirement for an open bid or competitive process? Does it matter if these Subawardees are all under the same Subrecipient? |
| A6. The thresholds are specific to the organization doing the purchasing. So, if the Subawardee and Subrecipient are doing their own separate purchasing (including separate invoices, etc.), they can each spend $10,000 with a vendor before needing a quote on file – even if it’s the same vendor. |
| Q7. Are these purchasing thresholds per farm or for our agencies? |
| A7. The thresholds are per vendor (Farm). |
| Q8. When purchasing food from a Farmer/Vendor with LFPA funds, what does the organization doing the purchasing need to verify and keep record of? |
A8. Vendors/Farmers do not need to meet the same criteria as Subawardees who receive pass-through funds
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| Q9. Does the seller need to have an EIN number? |
| A9. Any vendor needs to have a business license, which may require an EIN Number. |
| Q 10. We will be purchasing beef from local ranchers, having it processed at WSU (USDA processor). Does the rancher have to have a business license? |
A 10. Yes, they do. Please note the following language in the LFPA Contract: “Contractors/Vendors should have a current business license with the Washington State Department of Revenue. Exceptions may apply for businesses (farmers) that have a gross income of less than $12,000 per year – contact WSDA FA for details.”
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| Q 11. Do tribal vendors need to have a UBI#? |
| A 11. Tribal businesses that participate in or contribute to business activity off tribal land or outside treaty waters or with non-tribal members must follow WA Department of Revenue registration requirements for acquiring a State Business License. However, tribal businesses that participate in or contribute to business activities that only occur on tribal land, on treaty water and with tribal members can be licensed according to tribal policy. |
| Q 12. I would like to purchase WA grown food from a farm through a third-party distributor. The distributor has a UEI number but the farm does not. Is this allowable? |
| A 12. Yes. Since the transaction is happening with the distributor who has a UEI number, this is allowable, even if the farm does not have a UEI number. |
Food Expenses FAQs: Local, Domestic, Minimally Processed
| Please be advised that this is not legal advice – check with your own sources as needed. This guidance is subject to change and was last updated on 11/19/24. |
| ALLOWABLE EXPENSES |
| Q 13. Are processed foods eligible for this funding? |
| A 13. Processed foods are allowable for LFPA Round 1 funds (from ARPA), but food purchased with LFPA Plus funds (from CCC) must be unprocessed or minimally processed. |
| Q 14. Since fresh berries were not available in our state [in September], is there anything that can be done to allow exceptions for traditional First foods that come from neighboring states? |
| A 14. No, there is not an exception for traditional First foods in Washington. Food would be expected to be raised, produced, aggregated, stored, processed, and distributed within Washington or within 400 miles of the delivery destination. See Q11 of the USDA AMS LFPA FAQs. Berries from California are farther than 400 miles. This rule applies to all ingredients in a product, with some exceptions, such as the waived ingredients mentioned in Q4 of the USDA AMS LFPA FAQs. |
| Q 15. We are planning to purchase a live animal at auction for processing at a USDA-certified facility, is this allowable? |
| A 15. No, LFPA funding can only be used to purchase food items, such as meat, poultry, fruit, vegetables, seafood, dairy, and processed foods (for LFPA Round 1 funds). LFPA funds cannot be used to purchase a live animal at an auction for direct processing. This is addressed in the USDA AMS LFPA FAQs Q37. |
| Q 16. Is it an allowable LFPA expense to purchase locally produced yogurt that has small amounts of non-WA product such as mango? |
| A 16. No, this would not be an allowable expense under LFPA since mango is not a Washington product and is not a “waived ingredient” nor a “Nonavailable Article” (FAR 25.104) according to the Buy America Act. Refer to USDA AMS LFPA FAQ Q4 for information on waived ingredients. |
| Q 17. We are working with a food supplier/aggregator to purchase food and not all the product is Washington grown and processed. What are our options? |
| A 17. LFPA funds can only be used to purchase Washington foods. Inform the vendor of this requirement prior to purchasing. It may be helpful to have the vendor self-certify that product on each invoice only contains Washington products as allowable under LFPA. Some vendors might allow you to select only Washington product (ex: A wholesale online ordering system for food banks which lists product origin). |
| Q 18. Are there exceptions to the Washington only requirement? |
A 18. Keep in mind this requirement applies to food and ingredients, if buying something processed with LFPA Round 1 funds. There are three possible exceptions to the Washington produced requirements that WSDA is allowing at this time:
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| Q 19. Can you clarify the requirements for seafood that meets the definition of local that would be allowable for purchase using LFPA funds? |
| A 19. Ocean-caught salmon and other fish would be considered local and an allowable LFPA expense if caught from a Washington State licensed vessel and the fish is processed in Washington State. |
| Q 20. Can you please talk in more detail about what is domestic and local? |
| A 20. “Local” was defined in the LFPA Request for Applications (RFP) from USDA. Local means food that is “raised, produced, aggregated, stored, processed, and distributed in the locality or region where the final product is marketed to consumers, so that the total distance the product travels between farm or ranch where it originates and the point of sale to the end consumer is at most 400 miles, or both the final market and the origin of the product are within the same state, territory, or tribal land.” The Agricultural Acquisition Regulation 470.103(b) defines domestic. Food must be a “product of the United States, its territories or possessions, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands, except as may otherwise be required by law, and shall be considered to be such a product if grown, processed, and otherwise prepared for sale or distribution exclusively in the United States except with respect to minor ingredients. Ingredients from nondomestic sources will be allowed to be utilized as a United States product if such ingredients are not otherwise: (1) produced in the United States; and (2) commercially available in the United States at fair and reasonable prices from domestic sources.” The following ingredients have been determined by AMS Commodity Procurement as not available at fair and reasonable prices and are waived from all U.S. origin restrictions: vitamin A (retinol palmate); vitamin D; carrageenan (stabilizing agent); sorbic acid (preservative); potassium sorbate (preservative); rennet (coagulant); and items excepted from the Buy American Act under FAR 25.105 Nonavailable Articles. |
| Q 21. What does "minimally processed" mean for LFPA Plus funds? |
| A 21. Examples of allowable minimally processed food products include fruits and vegetables (including 100% juices); grain products such as pastas and rice; meats (whole, pieces, or food items such as ground meats); meat alternates such as beans or legumes; and fluid milk and other dairy foods such as cheese and yogurt. Foods in a wide variety of minimal processing states (e.g., whole, cut, pureed, etc.) and/or forms (e.g., fresh, frozen, canned, dried, etc.) are also allowable. Foods that are generally understood to be significantly processed or prepared are unallowable. Examples of unallowable products would include baked goods such as breads, muffins, or crackers; prepackaged sandwiches or meals; other prepared and/or pre-cooked items that come ready-to-eat or that require no further preparation beyond heating (eg. chicken nuggets, fish sticks, pre-made pizzas, etc). |
| Q 22. Is flour allowable? Honey? What about bread, if it is from a local bakery/farmers market? |
| A 22. Flour and honey are allowable food purchases for both LFPA Round 1 and LFPA Plus funds. Bread is an interesting example because it is allowable to buy with LFPA Round 1 funds (from ARPA), but it is not allowable for LFPA Plus as it is not "minimally processed" according to USDA. |
| Q 23. What about beef cows - we are planning to buy some beef from a local rancher? |
| A 23. Purchasing live animals (pre-harvest) is not allowable with LFPA funds. Purchasing ground beef after the animals have been dispatched and processed is allowable with both LFPA fund sources. |
| Q 24. Is it "local" if minimally processed and bought at a locally owned food vendor, but the ingredients of that product are not from Washington? For example, buying pasta from a local BIPOC vendor but the ingredients are not from Washington. |
| A 24. The local requirement applies to all major ingredients in a product unless the ingredient is waived from the domestic requirement. The pasta ingredients (ex. eggs and flour) must be produced locally, and the pasta itself must be made locally to qualify for LFPA. |
| Q 25. Can we cover the cost of shipping to procure items if we're not paying for the items? We get a lot of food donated but have to pay for shipping. |
| A 25. Paying for a separate shipping sharge associated with donated food would not be allowable for LFPA as it is not directly related to nor inherent to the procurement (purchase) of LFPA food. If an agency were to purchase the food using LFPA funds, and there was an associated charge for delivery/transport listed on the invoice with the food, then it is an allowable food expense for both LFPA Round 1 and LFPA Plus. In a third scenario, if your agency purchases food with LFPA funds and has to go pick it up from the vendor, these mileage expenses would be allowable as non-food costs with LFPA Round 1 funds only. |
Fiscal & Subawards FAQs: Non-Food Expenses, Indirect, Operations
| Please be advised that this is not legal advice – check with your own sources as needed. This guidance is subject to change and was last updated on 11/19/24. |
| FISCAL & SUBAWARDS |
| Q 26. Is there any limit on the indirect? |
| A 26. Your agency either has a de minimis rate of 10% or a federally approved indirect rate, or you could choose not to charge indirect – this is outlined in the agreement. Indirect rates cannot be applied to the portion of funds used for food purchases. |
| Q 27. Just to clarify - Indirect costs (whether de minimis or Federally Approved NICR) can NOT be applied to the 75% of LFPA funds which must be spent on food, correct? |
| A 27. Correct, indirect cannot be charged to the portion of the grant spent on food. This is specific to LFPA and includes both fund sources (ARPA and CCC). |
| Q 28. According to our auditors, passing funding onto other food pantries is complicated, requires additional formal contracting, site visits etc. since it's federal funds. Does WSDA agree and/or does it have any capacity to support establishing sub-sub recipient contracts with other food pantries? |
| A 28. We are not going to be providing subagreements for this grant – there are subagreements available on the website for our other programs currently, if that is helpful. There are risks, and many of our direct contractors/subrecipients already issue funds directly to subcontractors (subawardees). We will take a look at this and see what more we might be able to do. |
| Q 29. Can you clarify the staff wages that qualify and the percentage? |
| A 29. Indirect costs include activities/expenses that you cannot attribute directly to the grant or program. Agencies treat indirect costs and pool indirect expenses differently. This rate is either a 10% (de minimus) rate or a federally approved indirect rate. If staff are working directly on this grant or a portion of this grant, then those salaries (in proportion to the time worked on this grant) can be charged as part of Operations. Only LFPA Round 1 funds may pay for non-food expenses such as staff time. No more than 45% of an agency's LFPA Round 1 funds may be used for non-food expenses. |
| Q 30. Is a sub-awardee allowed to take an indirect rate, claim staff salaries, etc. since they would also incur these costs? |
| A 30. Yes. It would be the same rules. Only 45% of an agency's LFPA Round 1 funds may be used to pay for non-food expenses, and it is up to the subrecipient to decide how that money is shared or passed through with potential subawardees. |
| Q 31. Can you clarify the percentages for Operations and food expenses? How much of the food should be purchased from "socially disadvantaged" producers? |
| A 31. As a state, the goal is to spend 75% of all the LFPA funding on food -- but only LFPA Round 1 funds may be used for non-food expenses. All LFPA Plus funds from CCC must be spent on food. Up to 45% of LFPA Round 1 funds may be used for non-food costs related to Operations, Staffing, etc. For socially disadvantaged producers, we ask that at least 60% of the vendors you buy from identify as socially disadvantaged. Another way to think about this is to aim for 3 out of every 5 vendors identifying as socially disadvantaged. |
| Q 32. Will there be separate invoices for LFPA and LFPA Plus? |
| A 32. Yes there will be separate invoice vouchers for LFPA and LFPA Plus, and subrecipients will need to submit both monthly. Quarterly and annual reporting for LFPA Round 1 and LFPA Plus will be combined into one report. |
Reporting FAQs: Quarterly and Annual Reports
| Please be advised that this is not legal advice – check with your own sources as needed. This guidance is subject to change and was last updated on 11/19/24. |
| REPORTING |
| Q 33. Is a husband and wife owned business consider women owned? |
| A 33. It would probably depend on what is on their business license. There is also a "51% rule" in the Code of Federal Regulation (CFR). |
| Q 34. Since this is a new program, when we start reporting will all of the farmers/producers be considered "new" the first time that we purchase from them? (Even if we have purchased from them through Farm 2 Food Pantry or other programs?) |
| A 34. If you have purchased with those business/farmers anytime in the 12 months before LFPA Round 1 started (July 1, 2022), then they will not be considered new. |
| Q 35. I understand the concepts of Socially Disadvantaged and Socially Disadvantaged Groups. Who determines which organizations and communities qualify for these designations? |
| A 35. These definitions were handed down from USDA and ultimately came from Executive Order 13985. |
| Q 36. Is there or will there be a resource available that will identify which organizations have these designations? |
| A 36. Currently, WSDA Food Assistance does not maintain such a resource, but there may be localized resources in your community. Reaching out to County Extension agents, community food coalitions, and similar groups to help you identify producers could be another strategy. The LFPA webpage has links to producers WSDA has worked with previously for projects/programs like Farm to School and We Feed WA. Annual Farm to Food Pantry reports also contain lists of participating farms. The WA Local Food and Farm Finder can also be a good place to start looking for producers, and this tool does have filters to search for producers that identify as LGBTQ+, woman-owned, BIPOC-owned, etc. (Go to eatlocalfirst.org/wholesale. On the left-hand side, there is a dropdown menu for “About the Producer.” Expand the dropdown menu, and you can select different criteria.) Farmers can register themselves on the WA Local Food and Farm Finder. We are also looking into ways that WSDA can help farmers connect to LFPA Subrecipients in their area. |
| Q 37. Do organizations self-declare? If yes, is there any documentation required? |
| A 37. It is acceptable for a farmer and any other vendor to self-declare their identity. You could run into problems if assuming certain things about someone’s identity, and we also understand and appreciate these can be personal questions to ask when forming new business relationships. We have tried to share practices that our agency, partners, and stakeholders use like providing a checkbox on purchase orders (POs) for a vendor to declare ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ that they identify as socially disadvantaged. Note: You do not need to collect the specifics of how the vendor identifies, simply a yes or no to being socially disadvantaged is fine. Other organizations set up and maintain Vendor profiles as part of their records, so they have a questionnaire the vendor fills out before they start purchasing that asks these types of questions. At this point, WSDA does not plan on collecting documentation related to this, however, this may change in the future. It is very possible that it could become part of a compliance review. In the LFPA work plan due on October 28, there is a question that asks about how you plan to collect this information. If your workplan indicates that you will document this information, WSDA would expect you to be doing so. Please see your contract for retention expectations. |
| Q 38. For the quarterly reporting, can I combine all food purchases from the same vendor in the same quarter into one line (row) on the spreadsheet? What about the distributions? |
| A 38. For the reporting tab on the quarterly spreadsheet, please list all the purchases you made during the quarter with each vendor separately. Do not combine purchases for the same vendor into one line. If you bought a mixture of product types (like eggs and produce) from the same vendor, and they were part of the same purchase, you will need to split that purchase into two lines - one for each product type. If invoices included other costs (like a delivery charge for example), those costs should be reported as part of the food purchases. For the distributions tab, you may roll up each site's deliveries and only list the total value of LFPA food each site received during the quarter. |
| Q 39. Are there reporting templates? Those would be helpful! |
| A 39. Quarterly and annual reports have two components. First is the LFPA Quarterly Progress Report, which is an Excel spreadsheet used to report food purchases and their distributions for each quarter. This is available on the FA Forms and Pubs page, under "Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LFPA)." Second, quarterly and annual progress reports have a narrative component. These are submitted via email, and your regional rep will email you a few weeks before it is due. We typically ask for a minimum of 1-2 sentences related to each of the following: LFPA successes, LFPA challenges, solutions to LFPA challenges, and plans for the next quarter related to LFPA. More questions may be added to annual reports. |
Other FAQs
| Please be advised that this is not legal advice – check with your own sources as needed. This guidance is subject to change and was last updated on 11/19/24. |
| OTHER |
| Q 40. Did I understand correctly, USDA is considering not supporting staff to perform the work? |
A 40. In the second round of the grant there may not be funding for operations/administration. USDA is trying to get money elsewhere to support that effort, but it may not be through LFPA.
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| Q 41. How will LFPA impact other WSDA programs and initiatives like Farm to Food Bank and Farm to Food Pantry? |
| A 41. Currently, we still see each of these Farm to Community efforts (Farm to Food Bank, Farm to Food Pantry, and Local Food Purchasing Assistance) as being unique and complementary to one another. We have been leading and advocating for this work for many years here in Washington, so this level of investment at the federal level is exciting. WSDA is open to hearing about the impact these efforts have on your organizations, clients, and the producers you buy from, so we can plan for future opportunities. |
| Q 42. How can one learn more about the other 1/3 of LFPA funding is being used, allocated, or advertised? |
| A 42. The Food Security team (based in the Director's Office) is looking to hire a lead. The concept from WSDA's proposal was for the Food Security team to award at least 10 grants done by RFP. This has not been conducted yet. You can sign up for the Focus on Food and Food Assistance listservs for updates on funding and food policy efforts. |
| Q 43. Is there a breakdown for who is receiving what across the state? |
A 43. An email is sent to all LFPA subrecipients on June 1st, 2023 with a draft allocation table for both tribal and non-tribal subrecipients. Subrecipients were asked to accept, partially accept, or reject their LFPA Plus allocation by June 16, 2023.
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| Q 44. What does it mean for an allowable expense to be "inherent to the procurement of food"? |
A 44. Nonfood costs, such are storage and transportation, are considered "inherent to the procurement of food" when they are directly associated with the procurement of food AND they appear on the same invoice as the actual food item(s).
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