Summary

This is an Authorization to Advertise document issued by Collier County, Florida's Procurement Services Division for solicitation 25-8520, Emergency Catering Services (Grant Funded). The county seeks qualified vendors to provide meal support during disaster response scenarios including hurricanes, tropical storms, wildfires, tornadoes, pandemics, and utility failures. Services will be delivered at two primary locations: the Facilities Management Division campus and the County Emergency Operations Center, with potential expansion to additional sites. Vendors must demonstrate capability to prepare meals through either off-site boxed meal delivery or on-site mobile kitchen deployment. Proposals are due January 16, 2026, at 3:00 PM via the Collier County Procurement Services Division Online Bidding System. The county intends to award Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary vendors for an initial three-year contract term with potential one to two two-year renewals.

The contract is grant-funded through FEMA Public Assistance and requires detailed cost documentation to be maintained for five years to meet federal reimbursement requirements. Historical context shows the previous contract was activated four times for Hurricanes Ian, Idalia, Helene, and Milton, with total expenditures of approximately $800,000 and meal volumes ranging from 1,200 to 2,615 meals per day. Proposal evaluation will be based on a 100-point scale across five categories: Cover Letter/Management Summary (5 points), Financial Capacity (15 points), Experience and Capacity (30 points), Plan of Approach (30 points), and Cost of Services (20 points). Vendors must provide evidence of business registration, comply with E-Verify requirements, submit three to ten reference forms from similar projects within the past five years, provide sample seven-day menus and staffing plans, and maintain comprehensive insurance including $1,000,000 per occurrence Commercial General Liability coverage with Collier County named as an additional insured.