70B03C23R00000046 - SB Food Services - A3 - Questions and Responses.pdf

70B03C23R00000046 ‐ Southern Border Food Services – 4 Regional IDIQ Contracts

AMENDMENT THREE – Questions and Answers Document

1. Are the CBP COVID‐19 safety requirements still required due to the federal lift on COVID‐19 requirements for federal contractors? If so, what are the CBP COVID‐19 requirements?

Response: No.

2. Is pre‐screening of personnel (PREA) required within 24 hours of award or within 15 days of award? Additionally, is the timeframe based on the award of contract or task order?

Response: PREA pre‐screening of personnel shall occur before submittal of personnel for the CBP Background Investigation process, within 24 hours after award of the IDIQ contract.

3. For submission, one of the requirements is to include the Completed Representations and

Certifications, could you please elaborate on what exactly you are looking for? It is listed on Sam.Gov but I wasn't able to find any information on the Statement of Work.

Response: Please refer to the following clause, listed in the Solicitation Clauses and Provisions document, which must be completed and provided with each offer: 52‐212‐3 – Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Dec 2022).

4. What nutritional guidelines will be required for the program? Will the national school lunch program be required for children?

Response: Please refer to Section 3.0 of the Statement of Work. The SOW and all associated documentation must be read carefully in their entirety in order to ensure that all requirements for proposals are met.

5. Will there be a line item for snacks?

Response: Yes. The Pricing Sheets for each location/region have been revised to include a line item for snacks. The attached revised Pricing Sheets for all Regions/Sectors (indicated as v2) shall be used in all proposal submissions.

6. Will the food contractor be required to pay federal wage grade 2 as well as provide benefits?

Response: Contractors shall be required to adhere to all Department of Labor Wage Determination requirements as indicated in the solicitation.

7. Are you seeking bids for anything in addition to the food service?

Response. Not at this time.

8. How much notification will the vendor have on any meal count changes.

Response: Specific requirements shall be outlined within each Task Order awarded, and agreed to by all parties prior to award.

9. Can CBP provide an estimate of the Preparation and Serving area size for each site location? This is relevant to the number of staff that would be able to assemble and handout the required number of meal kits.

Response: In accordance with the SOW, meals must be prepared offsite. The space at each location is limited but accommodations will be made for serving purposes based on the requirements specified within each Task Order.

10. Each Line Item of the Pricing Sheets are labeled [Diet Category e.g. Vegetarian]. Is there to be a separate price point to be quoted for each Diet Category or are all potential Categories such as the Standard Meal, Fiber‐rich, Vegetarian, Gluten‐free and Pork‐free meals to be consolidated into one (1) price point for each Age specific Menu line item?

Response: In accordance with the notes contained on the pricing sheets, each category of pricing shall be submitted separately for each location. Prospective Offerors can add individual worksheets to each regional location spreadsheet, to indicate the different menu categories.

11. Can CBP provide past and future projected daily, weekly or monthly service headcounts / order volume at each Station Location?

Response: Expectations for each Region/Sector are outlined within the Solicitation documents.

12. What is the Notice period provided by CBP for daily service headcounts? Ie…4 hours, 8 hours, 24 hours etc…

Response: To be specified within each Task Order awarded.

13. Regarding FAR 52.216‐19 Order Limitations; is the minimum value of $10,001.00 based on the total contract award or for a specific Task Order and Location site for any specified period of time?

Response: As indicated, the clause refers to the “Order” limitations. The ceiling for the IDIQ contract(s) is as outlined within the solicitation documentation.

14. Page 16 of the SOW states “Juveniles shall be offered a snack upon arrival at a CBP facility…Juveniles shall have regular access to snacks, milk, and juice? Is this to say that there will be snacks, milk and juice available on a 24/7 basis at the Task Order location?

Response: Specific requirements shall be outlined within each Task Order awarded.

15. Can leftover drinks Milk, Water, or Juice be taken back to the contractors facility after each meal service to be reused for the next service?

Response: The SOW must be read carefully in its entirety. This question is answered within the SOW requirements within Section 5.3. Excerpt as follows:

Any excess food items shall be distributed amongst the migrants as requested or destroyed on site prior to Contractor departure. No food shall be held onsite, returned to CBP, or removed from the premises once placed into service. No materials or packing items or other miscellaneous items shall be left behind by the Contractor after completion of services.

16. What is the contract number(s) for the current contract(s) supplying the meals in each Sector?

Response: No current contract for these requirements exists.

17. In section 1.2 it states:

The Minimum Government Guarantee (see FAR 52.216‐22(b)) of any contract that results from this solicitation is $10,001.00. The minimum order value of any Task Order under any resulting IDIQ contract shall be $10,001.00.

Understand the minimum order size $ value. Is there a maximum duration per task order (i.e.

can an order be placed for a 120‐day period with a threshold of $10,001?)

Response: Specific requirements, including periods of performance, shall be outlined within each Task Order awarded. Please refer to the solicitation documents for the ordering period of performance for the IDIQ contracts.

18. What is the Minimum ordering volume per station location within each Sector?

Response: See previous question.

19. For awarded Task Orders (TO) will the TO identify the number of days to be serviced at a specific

Station Location or the total number of meals to be served over a set number of days as the Task Order duration?

Response: Specific requirements shall be outlined within each Task Order awarded.

20. To my understanding everyone on this contract's payroll must be paid a minimum of $15 an hour plus an additional $4.80 of fringe and health benefits. A total of $19.80 an hour. Will everyone on the payroll of a contractor and subcontractor be held accountable?

Response: Please refer to the Department of Labor Wage Rate Determination tables specific to each area, for the wage requirements for that area.

21. Will background checks be done for prime as well as subcontractors? Will everyone on a contractor's payroll be background checked? Will they be held accountable to ensure everyone working on this contract has been background checked when hired by a prime or subcontractor?

Response: Every contractor staff member working on contract shall be required to undergo and pass the CBP Background Investigation requirements prior to commencing work on the contract (as outlined in the SOW and accompanying Solicitation Clauses and Provisions document).

22. If two separate entities share one same owner can both companies submit different bids with different menus and pricing sheets?

Response: Each prospective offeror is required to be registered and active individually as an organization/entity within the System for Award Management (SAM) contractor registration system, prior to doing business with the Government.

23. Is the intent of this IDIQ to replace the existing BPA for Meals at the Southern Border or will it be used in these regions along with the BPA for feeding needs?

Response: No. This will not replace or end the Southwest Border Detainee Meals Multi‐Award BPA.

Both actions shall exist and be available for meals requirements during their respective ordering periods of performance.

24. In the solicitation it only lists the Sector Stations. Will the IDIQ be available for use by the processing facilities as well (etc. Ursula in Rio Grande Sector and the CPC in El Paso) and the soft side facilities or strictly for the stations?

Response: At this time, only the U.S. Border Patrol Sector locations as indicated in the solicitation documentation shall be required.

25. This solicitation does not cover all sectors/regions of the southern border. Will those areas have access to this IDIQ or will they be using another method for meal procurement?

Response: No, only the Sectors/Regions as outlined within the solicitation documentation shall have access to the awarded IDIQ contract(s). Other avenues for food for both these sectors and other sectors and/or CBP customers shall remain available.

26. Can you confirm if the bidders are required to respond to all four (4) regions or can we only focus on and submit a proposal for one (1) or two (2) regions?

Response: Proposals can be submitted for as many or few Sector/Regions as the prospective offeror desires. There is no requirement to submit to all four Sectors/Regions.

27. Is this is a daily food order service, considering that we need to distribute and serve the food every day.

Response: Specifications for each Task Order shall be outlined at award.

28. Will we be required to provide an everyday delivery/distributing service?

Response: See question #27.

29. Since we are responsible for delivering, serving, and cleaning up the area, I would like to clarify whether we need to incorporate these services into our price per meal fee, or if there is a separate sheet for the distributing/cleaning services?

Response: Submitted pricing shall be fully‐loaded rates, incorporating all requirements in each per‐ meal price.

30. I would appreciate it if you could provide me with information about the earliest notification time for an order. This will help us to be better prepared and ready on time.

Response: Specifications shall be provided with each Task Order award.

31. Meal plan consultation with a registered dietitian to ensure nutritional standards are met. Does the client want us to use any specific dietitian group from government agencies, or any registered dietitian be fine? What type of documentation will the client require from the dietitian to show they approve of the menu?

Response: Any verifiable and registered dietician approved within Industry and Government standards shall be sufficient to provide certification that meals meet the required specifications.

Documentation from the dietician can be completed in any format – formal letter or memorandum, but must be signed by the dietician, and able to be verified by the Government proposal evaluation team.

32. “All meals will be prepared offsite and delivered”. What is the maximum distance from CBP camp allowed for facility preparation?

Response: Facilities must be within sufficient proximity to allow for proper delivery and distribution of meals to the locations specified within each Task Order, in order to meet the timelines required to ensure safe food handling and distribution.

33. Upon arrival at CBP facility, will the contractor need to set up a serving line with chaffer dishes or hot line and serve meals, or do all meals need to be placed into carry‐out containers before deliveries are made?

Response: Please ensure the SOW is read in its entirety and understood. Excerpt from Section 5.3:

Unless otherwise specified, all meals to be provided under the contract shall be preserved, packaged, and packed for service/distribution in accordance with standard commercial practices to meet the packing requirements of the carrier and ensure safe delivery and serving at the destination as required. Preservation, packaging, and packing shall provide adequate protection against physical damage during order fulfillment.

34. If meals are served on‐site will the client prefer foods served on melamine plates or disposable items?

Response: Please ensure the SOW is read in its entirety and understood. The response to this question is contained therein.

35. If all meals will be served on disposable plates or carry‐out containers – Will the client require eco‐friendly biodegradable containers or is there no preference.

Response: “Green” contracting standards are preferred.

36. Will CBP dining facility have enough outlets and electricity or potable water to serve meals, and maintain hot temperatures of equipment?

Response: Meals shall be prepared offsite, delivered, and distributed at each location. Specific location requirements and capabilities shall be outlined within each Task Order awarded.

37. During Federal Holiday’s specified in Section 12 of the Food Services SOW, will the client require special meals outside of the menu as long as it abides by the restrictions listed in 5.3 Meals Delivery section?

Response: Federal Holiday’s shall not change any of the specifications, requirements, terms and conditions of the solicitation and SOW. Meals are expected to be served during Holiday periods, with specifics to be outlined within each Task Order awarded.