Justification to Restrict Competition Summary

This is a Justification and Approval (J&A) document for restricting competition on a contract modification with Ventera LLC for software development and support services to the Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA).

Contracting Activity and Scope: The USDA's Departmental Administration, Office of Contracting and Procurement is modifying an existing delivery order (12314425F0334, Requisition 1177774) under FAR Part 8 and GSAM 538.71. The modification adds supplemental resources valued at $1,752,674.00 ($904,630.00 for FY26 and $848,044.00 for FY27) for a 12-month Period of Performance in each fiscal year. The contractor will provide a System Database Architect, and three Application Developers (Junior and Senior levels) to support the STARS (Store Authorization and Tracking System) application, a mission-critical system managing over 260,000 active retailers for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Services and Justification for Single-Source Award: The required services encompass close partnership with FNA program areas to support ATO readiness and security control implementation; operational continuity and technical problem resolution across multiple cloud boundaries; and support for platform modernization including Windows Server upgrades, Azure VMware Solution (AVS) migration, and technology updates (Angular JS, UI/UX improvements). The justification cites GSAM 538.7104-3(b)(ii), arguing only Ventera is capable of providing these specialized services at the required quality level due to their unparalleled 15-year institutional knowledge of the STARS application, database structure, FNA technology platforms, and proven expertise maintaining operational continuity. The contractor has demonstrated critical capabilities in security compliance, software lifecycle management, stakeholder coordination, and rapid problem resolution that would create unacceptable transition risk and operational disruption if transferred to another vendor. The Contracting Officer determined the proposed pricing is fair and reasonable based on comprehensive price analysis including labor categories, estimated hours, historical pricing, and applicable Federal Supply Schedule discounts.