Recognizing & Addressing MMM Warning Signs | USDA FNS MMMWS 24

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FNS MMMWS 24

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) funding opportunity titled "Recognizing & Addressing MMM Warning Signs" (Funding Opportunity Number: USDA FNS MMMWS 24) is a discretionary grant offered as a one-time cooperative agreement. The program is focused on the WIC environment, meaning the settings where State and local Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) agencies deliver services and interact with pregnant and postpartum participants. The core purpose is to strengthen how WIC agencies identify and respond to early warning signs associated with maternal morbidity and mortality (MMM), using evidence-based practices, and to formally evaluate how well those practices are implemented in real-world WIC operations.

The award is designed to fund a single external entity to serve as the central administrator and support hub for a competitive subgrant program that will ultimately fund multiple WIC State and local agencies. Rather than directly funding many WIC agencies from the federal level, FNS intends to make one larger award (with an award ceiling of up to $5,000,000 and an expected number of awards of 1) to an intermediary organization. That intermediary will be responsible for setting up and running the subgrant competition, providing technical assistance to subgrantees, supporting implementation, and conducting or coordinating evaluation activities. In practical terms, the funded entity functions like a program operator and learning partner: it distributes sub-awards, helps WIC agencies apply and succeed, gathers data, and assesses outcomes and implementation progress.

A major emphasis of the opportunity is evaluation of implementation, not just program delivery. The goal is to generate credible information about what it takes for WIC agencies to adopt and carry out evidence-based approaches that help staff recognize and address early MMM warning signs. This implies an interest in implementation quality, feasibility, barriers, facilitators, and lessons learned across different WIC contexts, as well as how workflows, training, referral pathways, and partnerships with health providers or community organizations can be integrated into WIC services. The cooperative agreement structure also signals that FNS expects substantial involvement with the awardee during the project, such as coordination on program design, reporting, evaluation expectations, and dissemination of findings.

Eligible applicants are limited to nonprofit-oriented and research-capable entities: accredited institutions of higher education (colleges and universities), nonprofit research entities, and other nonprofit organizations. The opportunity is categorized under Food and Nutrition and is associated with CFDA/Assistance Listing number 10.557, which aligns with WIC-related federal assistance. The administering agency is USDA's Food and Nutrition Service. Key administrative details include an original application closing date of February 14, 2024, and a creation date of November 15, 2023.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as a national-scale effort to build evidence and practical guidance for WIC agencies on maternal health risk recognition and response. By funding one organization to run a structured subgrant program with strong technical assistance and evaluation components, FNS is aiming to accelerate adoption of proven approaches, document what works in the WIC setting, and produce findings that can be used to improve maternal health support across the WIC network.

• The Food and Nutrition Service in the food and nutrition sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Recognizing & Addressing MMM Warning Signs" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.557.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-11-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-02-14. (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 $5,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA FNS MMMWS 24

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