American Rescue Plan Analysis and Guidance

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) provides $350 billion in flexible funds to states, localities, tribes, and territories to help with COVID-related challenges and expenses. States and other governments have fairly wide discretion in how to spend these funds, but the U.S. Treasury has issued broad guidelines to assist states and localities in determining the best use of funds. Generally, these funds are intended to address the ongoing health and economic impacts from COVID-19 (including assistance to households, nonprofits, and small businesses), provide additional pay for essential workers, and invest in crucial infrastructure projects.

Child nutrition programs, emergency food providers, and school nutrition agencies can benefit greatly from these funds. This resource is intended to offer guidance on how nonprofits and school nutrition programs can benefit from $350 billion in state and local discretionary recovery funds, $1.2 billion in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, and the $1.3 billion replenishment of The Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funds.

The examples provided in this resource are non-exclusive, and state and local governments have “broad latitude to choose” how to utilize these funds. Additional details on the initial guidance from the U.S. Treasury Department on authorized use of ARP funds by states and localities can be found here.