Grants / Department of Health and Human Services / Food and Drug Administration

RFA-FD-25-024: A Research Study of Contaminants in School Meals (U18)

Closed Closed July 7, 2025 Opportunity RFA-FD-25-024 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: Flexible Funding Model - Advancing Domestic Mutual Reliance Through Strengthened Infrastructure Development and Maintenance for Manufactured Food Regulatory Programs (PAR-27-017). Status: Rolling or no fixed deadline. It is in our archive of Food and Drug Administration notices from 2025.

• Award ceiling$2.0 million
• Total funding$20.0 million
• Expected awards20
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeCooperative Agreement

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.

• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

Eligibility for this funding opportunity is limited to schools that actively participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), including both public and nonprofit private schools. Applicants must demonstrate the operational capacity and readiness to implement food service change during the 2025–2026 academic year, including the ability to comply with the data collections and reporting as outlines in this announcement. Schools must be equipped to engage in structure intervention activities and collaborate with a partner to support the transition to minimize the use of foods commonly considered ultra-processed. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply. Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Food and Drug Administration Research awards averaged $1.3 million; this notice allows up to $2.0 million per award.
• Most of the program's money (35% over five years) went to nonprofits.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

This pilot study supports a comprehensive, FDA-led initiative aimed at evaluating the toxicological safety and nutritional quality of meals served in all schools that actively participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), including both public and nonprofit private schools. The grant may be used to support participation by a single school, multiple schools within a district, entire school districts that participate in the National School Lunch Program.

Category: Agriculture, Consumer Protection, Food and Nutrition.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, PAR-27-017, which is open now.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.