McGovern-Dole Program Grant for Education and Nutrition in Guatemala and Honduras

Program Overview         

The McGovern-Dole program feeds school children and improves literacy (especially for girls) in low-income, food-deficit countries around the world. The program provides for the donation of U.S. agricultural commodities, as well as financial and technical assistance, to support school feeding, literacy, maternal and child health and nutrition projects worldwide pursuant to an agreement with USDA-FAS. The program requires the inclusion of graduation as stipulated in the legislation.

Program Objectives

The McGovern-Dole program key objectives are to carry out:

·      Preschool and school food for education programs in foreign countries to improve food security, reduce the incidence of hunger, and improve literacy and primary education, particularly with respect to girls; and

·      Maternal, infant, and child nutrition programs for pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants, and children who are five years of age or younger.

Program Priorities

The program funding priorities of this NOFO are to support active McGovern-Dole cooperative agreements in Guatemala and Honduras through a limited competitive process with prior year McGovern-Dole funds. Within the parameters of the McGovern-Dole authorizing legislation and program objectives, this additional funding should be used to expand and strengthen food for education programs in Guatemala and Honduras, reduce the incidence of hunger and improve literacy education, thereby indirectly reducing the incidence of irregular migration to the United States. Country-specific guidance is provided in Appendix B.  Given that prior year funds will be used, these funds cannot be used for the local and regional procurement of agricultural commodities. In addition, USDA is making available at least $150,000 in prior year funding to support an activity that incorporates the use of recently developed potable water technologies in a school feeding project.