8-TUHSD FSMC RFP 27-15-31 Questions-Answers.pdf

GENERAL INFORMATION

1. If the District intends to proceed with a management only structure, will you consider a separate alternate proposal for a full-service fixed price per meal model?

a. Solicitation is for a Fixed Price per meal model.

2. Please confirm whether Tolleson is seeking a management only agreement or a full-service fixed price per meal agreement. Under the intended model, will the District pay all wages, benefits, payroll taxes, workers compensation, overtime, substitute coverage, and leave costs for District employees? If so, should these expenses be excluded from the FSMC fixed meal prices but included on Attachments 7.3 and 7.4 to reflect the District’s total food service expenses?

a. Solicitation is for a Fixed Price per meal model. The district will retain and maintain all current staff.

3. Please confirm the anticipated contract award date, contract commencement date, and first day of FSMC operations. Should Year One pricing, financial projections, and the guarantee cover a partial school year ending June 30, 2027, or a future full school year?

a. Anticipated Governing Board approval is October 13, 2026

b. Anticipated contract commencement date is January 1, 2027. For school year

2026-27, students return to school after Winter Break on January 5, 2027

c. Year one pricing, financial projections, and guarantee should cover a partial school year ending June 30, 2027

4. Please provide the following documents referenced in Exhibit F that were not included with the solicitation:

a. District calendars for the previous two school years[Attached]

b. Food service employee roster by site, position, scheduled hours, workdays, and wage rate.[Attached]

c. Food Service Annual Financial Reports and general Annual Financial Reports for FY’s

2025 and 2026. Information can be found on District’swebsite: Business Services | Tolleson Union High School District

d. Sponsor and school claim data by month and site for FYs 2025 and 2026[Attached]

5. Please confirm the number of physical proposal copies required and the method for submitting the digital copy. Are bid or performance bonds required? If so, please provide the required amounts and forms.

a. Please provide six (6) physical copies and one digital copy via USB drive.

b. Bond is not required

6. What formula will be used to evaluate and score the proposed pricing?

a. Evaluated Price: For evaluation purposes, the District will multiply each Offeror’s proposed fixed price for each applicable meal type and meal equivalent by the same District-established projected quantities for that category. Those extended https://www.tuhsd.org/business-services https://www.tuhsd.org/business-services amounts will be added together to determine each Offeror’s total evaluated price.

The lowest total evaluated responsive price will receive 37 points. All other responsive Offerors will receive pricing points using:

i. Lowest Evaluated Responsive Price ÷ Offeror’s Evaluated Price × 37.

7. Given the short turnaround time after questions are answered, would the district consider extending the RFP proposal deadline? Even if by a few days to the 21 st or 22 nd of September?

a. Included in this amendment is a due-date change to September 28, 2026.

8. Are there established parent, family, student, or community groups that provide feedback or guidance regarding the nutrition/dining program?

a. The student government, parents, and teachers. Procurement consultant is NOT a voting/evaluating member.

9. Please identify the roles represented on the RFP evaluation committee—for example, District administration, school administration, parents, students, Board members, or other stakeholders —to the extent this information is available for disclosure.

a. Evaluation representatives will be parent(s), school level administrator(s), food service employee(s), and district office employee(s)

10. Will oral presentations be needed? The RFP says they are an option. Can you please clarify?

a. No, oral presentations are NOT needed.

11. Okay to use District logo in our proposal?

a. Yes, you may use the District logo.

BUSINESS SERVICES / PAYROLL INFORMATION

1. Projected Student Enrollment data by school for the 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 School Years.

Does the district expect an increase, decrease, or neutral change to enrollment?

a. TUHSD has experienced meaningful long-term enrollment growth, but that growth has slowed substantially in the last few years. The District had a small decline of about 0.7% in FY2024, followed by growth of about 1.9% in FY2025. Recent enrollment is therefore essentially stable to modestly growing, rather than rapidly expanding.

2. Any District Expenses the Food Service Program covers.

a. Everything listed below is covered by the FS budget, information available on financial reports previously referenced.

■ SFA Employee Wages; SFA Employee Benefits; SFA Direct Expenses; SFA

Indirect Expenses

3. Provide a "plug” labor number for all FSMCs to use for hourly labor for all SFA employees.

Additionally, please provide the total fringe percentage or dollar amount for all SFA employees.

a. SFA will retain and maintain current staffing; therefore, this information will not be needed.

4. Provide the current vacancy rate for Hourly Worker positions that have not been filled regularly.

a. SFA will retain and maintain current staffing; therefore, this information will not be needed.

5. In addition, please provide the projected annual increase percentage on all SFA hourly positions.

a. SFA will retain and maintain current staffing; therefore, this information will not be needed.

6. If Catering or Vending programs are offered, please provide an annual revenue total for all FSMC’s to use in developing a proforma.

a. Catering $42,914

b. Vending $56,324

7. Please provide the total Labor Expenses Budgeted for SY 26/27. This should include all regular TUHSD staff wages, benefits, workers comp, pension, etc., but not including temp services. Should this number be used by all FSMC’s for purposes of calculating their financial guarantee or would you prefer the proposed guarantee be ‘before labor expenses’?

a. Guarantee is to be “before SFA labor expenses”

8. Please provide the total expense amount budgeted for Temp Services for SY 26/27.

a. Approximately $150,000.00

9. Please confirm that SFA wages should not be included in the FSMC’s fixed meal rate.

a. Correct not to be included in the fixed meal rate.

10.Should Year One pricing, financial projections, and the guarantee cover a partial school year ending June 30, 2027, or a future full school year?

a. Provide one partial year and the remaining 4 full years, assuming the district will issue a new procurement effective July 1, 2031.

11.What meal equivalency factor should all offerors use?

a. Offerors shall use a Meal Equivalency Factor of $5.19 for School Year 2026–2027.

The factor is calculated using the applicable SY 2026–2027 free lunch reimbursement rate, including the applicable Section 4 and performance-based reimbursement, plus the SY 2026–2027 per-meal value of USDA donated foods.

All Offerors shall use the $5.19 factor in preparing their financial projections and other proposal calculations requiring a meal-equivalency factor.

12.Please provide current foodservice staffing information by site, including position, number of employees/FTEs, hours per workday, workdays per year, and hourly wage, along with current vacancies and anticipated wage changes, if available.

a. Attached

13.What was the net financial result (surplus or deficit) of the foodservice account for each of the past three fiscal years?

a. Surplus

14.The RFP identifies $899,089 in FY2024-25 cash sales. Please provide the breakdown between a la carte, adult meals, catering, vending, concessions, and other revenue

a. SY 25/26 = $853,460.00 cash deposits; See #15 -17 below.

b. Catering - $42,914 revenue + $67,371 expenditures = $107,286

c. Culinary purchases - $43,836

d. Rebates - $20,225

FOOD SERVICES INFORMATION

1. Actual USDA Meal Claims by school for the 2025-2026 School Year to Date for any meals served for National School Lunch Program; School Breakfast Program; SFSP or SSO; CACFP.

a. Attached

2. Number of corresponding Operating Days if the days are not listed on the Claim sheets.

a. Calendars attached

3. Please provide meal counts by site, month, program, and eligibility category. Do the reported two million annual meals include meal equivalents, a la carte sales, adult meals, concessions, catering, afterschool meals, interagency meal service, and summer meals?

a. See Attached; catering is not included in the meal counts

4. Does the district permit any students at any schools to eat off campus? If so, which campuses/schools and what grade levels?

a. No

5. Does the SFA provide vehicle(s) for deliveries to the schools or does the FSMC need to provide vehicles?

a. Vendor deliveries are made to each site - no District vehicles are used for transport

6. Provide the planned 2026 USDA Commodity allotment (including any bonus food allotments) to understand what has been ordered.

a. $490K - DoD / $60k - Brown Box

7. Please provide the exact meal equivalency factor that all offerors should use for financial projections, proposal evaluation, and invoicing, including the reimbursement rate and USDA Foods value included in the calculation.

a. REIM rate can be found on claim

8. Provide clarification on Meal Equivalencies for Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks and A la Carte Revenue and Dinner meals to consistent fee calculations based on meal conversions.

a. B - #meals x 0.67

b. Ala Carte - Revenue x current Free REIM rate

c. Lunch and Dinner 1:1 Ratio

9. Provide details regarding which Schools currently participate in the Community Eligibility Programs currently, the schools’ ISP and plans for future schools joining the CEP program.

a. All TUHSD schools participate in CEP.

b. Current ISP is 41.41%. Applying the CEP multiplier of 1.6 results in a free claiming percentage of 66.26% and a paid claiming percentage of 33.74%.

10.Provide the USDA Commodity Allotment to use in proforma development for the 2026-27 School Year.

a. $550 ($490k Dod/$60k Brown Box)

11.Can you please provide meal claims for:

a. Breakfast: by school site, for the months of April 2026, May 2026, and August 2026; and the number of servings days for each month.

b. Lunch: by school site, for the months of April 2026, May 2026, and August 2026; and the number of servings days for each month.

c. Snacks: by school site, for the months of April 2026, May 2026, and August 2026; and the number of servings days for each month.

d. Supper Meals: by school site, for the months of April 2026, May 2026, and August 2026;

and the number of servings days for each month.

e. Summer Breakfast: June 2026; and please confirm the number of serving dates and sites for summer feeding during June 2026

f. Summer Lunch Meals: June 2026; and please confirm the number of serving dates and sites for summer feeding during June 2026

See attached claim information; summer is approximately 19 serving days, Breakfast and Lunch only

12.Please provide the total Student Ala Carte Sales for SY 25/26

a. $581,328 (Includes $19220 - adult meals)

13.Please provide the total Vending Machine Sales for SY 25/26

a. $56,321 + $32,261 (operational cost) = $88,582

14.Please provide the total Adult Sales for SY 25/26

a. $19,220

15.Please provide the total Commodity Entitlement for SY 26/27

a. $550k

16.Please provide the total amount the district anticipates paying out for students servicing the vending machines for SY 26/27?

a. Depending on participation $5 - 10k

17.Please confirm the CEP reimbursement rate for SY 26/27

a. See attached claims

18.Do students have access to a salad bar during lunch?

a. Premade salads are available as well as fresh fruit at every meal service line.

19.Please provide sponsor and school claim data by month, site, and program for fiscal years 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026, including breakfast, lunch, summer meals, CACFP, supper, and snacks.

a. See Attached

20.Please confirm whether 20 percent of vending revenue or profit will be returned to the students and employees responsible for stocking the vending machines throughout the contract term.

a. 20% of revenue from vending machines is paid to student groups on days they work.

21.Please provide the month-by-month claims/meal counts by site and program, including breakfast, lunch, ASCSP snack, At-Risk Afterschool Meals, and SSO where applicable.

a. Attached

22.Please confirm the number of operating/service days bidders should use for SBP, NSLP, ASCSP, At-Risk Afterschool Meals, and SSO.

a. See calendar attached for NSLP/SBP

b. Approx 90 serving days for At-Risk Supper

23.For the summer program, please share historical meal counts, operating days, and participation for the four sites operating during June.

a. 6 sites total. Summer school 4 sites/summer camp 2 sites

b. See attached claims report

24.Please share historical meal counts, service days, and participation for the supper/At-Risk Afterschool Meals program.

a. See attached All Offerers are strongly advised that no contact shall be made with any District employee, procurement consultant and/or Board Members throughout this process.