DSU - Fresh Ideas Questions.pdf

FRESH IDEAS INFORMATION & DATA REQUEST

DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY

Meal Plans

1. Please provide Fall 2026 projected meal plan enrollment by plan.

Meal Plan Number of Plans (projected) Fall 2026 Big Blue Unlimited 146 Dakota 225 110 Dakota 145 163 Trojan Basic 100 Trojan Upper Class Flex 71 Little Blue Apartment Flex 80 RA Flex Plan 25 Commuter Plan 6 Total 701

2. Which students are required to have meal plans? Which meal plans are they required to have?

Students living in the residence halls must purchase a full meal plan each semester.

Meal Plan Choices

Plans for 1st Year Students

Plans for 2nd Year Students

Plans for 3rd

Year/+ Students

Plans for

Apts.

Big Blue Unlimited X X X X Dakota 225 X X X X Dakota 145 X X X X Trojan Basic X X X Trojan Upper Class X X Little Blue Apartment X

DSU Residence Life purchases RA Meal Plans on behalf of students. This past academic year, Residence Life purchased 28 meal plans for students.

3. Please confirm that meal exchange or meal equivalency is not currently offered with your meal plans.

Assuming “meal exchange” is referring to the ability to use a meal swipe for a set amount of flex dollars, then the answer is no.

4. What is the % (or number) of international students on campus? How many are on a meal plan?

For fall 2026, DSU has 47 international students living in housing, all of which have a meal plan.

5. What is the % (or number) of athletes on campus? How many are on a meal plan?

There are 241 student athletes living in DSU housing for the fall 2026 semester, all of which have a meal plan.

6. Meal Plan Taxability

• Are meal plans taxed? If so, what is the tax rate?

• If flex dollars are taxed, are they taxed at the point of sale when redeemed or up front in the total meal plan cost? What is the tax rate?

During the last procurement process, there was confusion regarding the treatment of sales tax within the pricing submitted by respondents. To avoid a similar issue, all pricing provided in proposals should include any applicable sales tax and be presented as the final price that would be charged to students. The universities will not add sales tax to the prices proposed by the vendor. Therefore, vendors must clearly identify any sales tax assumptions included in their pricing and specify their responsibility for calculating and remitting applicable taxes. All tax-related assumptions should be clearly documented to ensure proposals can be evaluated on a consistent basis and that the resulting agreement accurately reflects the parties' intent. For clarity, Flex Dollars are subject to sales tax at the point of sale and are taxed separately by the food service provider when purchases are made. Below are the current sales tax rates applicable at DSU, as defined by the South Dakota Department of Revenue. Please note that tax rates are subject to change based on state and local tax decisions. It is the vendor's responsibility to remain informed of and comply with the applicable tax requirements for the location(s) included in its proposal and to incorporate any applicable taxes into its proposed pricing.

1. State + municipal = 6.2%

2. State + Municipal + Municipal gross = 7.2%

3. State + municipal + tourism = 7.7%

4. State + municipal + municipal gross + tourism = 8.7%

7. Daily Rates

• What are your current daily rates for each plan?

• Do your daily rates include flex dollars?

The current agreement includes meal-plan pricing and other financial arrangements related to meal plan revenue. The campuses are not requiring proposers to replicate the current pricing structure.

Proposers should clearly identify their proposed meal-plan pricing methodology, including any daily rates, commissions, fees, revenue-sharing arrangements, or retained revenue components included in their proposal.

Sales History

8. Please provide a two-year sales history (Fall and Spring combined) for each dining location by tender.

Please specify if the sales figures include tax.

FY26 (2025-2026)

Dining Location Sales: Cash/ Credit/Debit /Trojan Silver

Sales:

Flex Dollars

# of Dining Hall Meal Swipes

# of Meal Exchange Swipes

Trojan Dining Center $14,221 $33,773 The Queue $23,638 $75,912 0 Starbucks $26,063 $45,884 0 Bits ’N Bytes C-Store $39,497 $184,866 0 Just Baked $0 $0 0

FY25 (2024-2025) – Information not available

Dining Location Sales: Cash/ Credit/Debit /Trojan Silver

Sales:

Flex Dollars

# of Dining Hall Meal Swipes

# of Meal Exchange Swipes

Trojan Dining Center $ $ The Queue $ $ Starbucks $ $ Bits ’N Bytes C-Store $ $ Just Baked $ $

9. Operating Days & Hours:

• What are the board operating days by semester?

Fall = 112; Spring = 110

• Please confirm the hours below from the RFP are the current operating hours. Are these the desired hours? (Note: The Queue evening hours) The following table is the current operating hours, however, DSU may request through the negotiation process to adjust hours in the future based on student demands or preferences.

• Please provide the summer operating days and hours for the dining hall and c-store.

The dining hall and c-store are open in the summer during specific camps only or negotiated periods where there are large activities on campus.

• Do any locations on campus remain open during academic breaks or holidays? If yes, please provide which remain open and the days and hours of operation of each location.

Food Service operations do not remain open during academic breaks or holidays unless specifically negotiated as additional operating hours.

10. Please provide the current summer conference and camp rates.

plan revenue. The campuses are not requiring proposers to replicate the current pricing structure.

Proposers should clearly identify their proposed meal-plan pricing methodology, including any daily

11. Please provide your preboard service days, rate and total preboard spending for the last two years.

(Preboard includes any meal expenditures before the board plan start date, for example, student-athletes, orientation leaders, new student orientation, etc.)

Group Arrival Date Dining Need Volleyball 16 days prior B,L,D weekdays, and brunch on weekends Soccer 19 days prior B,L,D weekdays, and brunch on weekends Football 13 days prior B,L,D weekdays, and brunch on weekends Cross Country 6 days prior B,L,D weekdays, and brunch on weekends Resident Assistants 12 days prior B,L,D weekdays, and brunch on weekends

12. Please provide Spring 2026 and Fall 2026 retail menus and pricing for The Queue and Starbucks.

Information isn’t available.

13. For The Queue, please share the rotating concepts for the past 12 months.

Fall 2025 – Mediterranean Winter 2026 – BBQ Nation Spring 2026 – tex-mex bowl, etc.

Fall 2026 – poke bowl, noodle

14. Please provide concessions menus and pricing for Spring and Fall for 2025 and 2026.

Information isn’t available.

15. Please provide the dining hall door rates, as applicable:

plan revenue. The campuses are not requiring proposers to replicate the current pricing structure.

Proposers should clearly identify their proposed meal-plan pricing methodology, including any daily

Financials

16. Would you consider a longer amortization period than the five years outlined in the RFP?

No. The Board's intent for this procurement is that any proposed investment, including the payoff of existing unamortized investment balances, be fully recovered within the initial five-year contract term.

Respondents should structure their proposals accordingly and should not assume amortization beyond June 30, 2032.

17. Are the current hourly associates represented by a CBA (collective bargaining agreement)?

No.

18. Student Employees

• How many students work in the dining program?

• Are students on the university payroll (work study) or the current vendor payroll?

• What is the average wage for student workers in dining services?

The requested human resources and employee information is not available to the University. The employees are employed by the current dining services contractor, and these records are maintained by that contractor. Therefore, the University is unable to provide the requested information.

Annual Donations & Commissions

19. Please provide any in-kind or annual donations you receive from your current vendor (for example, catering funds, scholarships, complimentary meal plans for RAs, faculty/staff, etc.). Which ones would you like to see continued?

The institutions currently benefit from various vendor-supported programs and investments that may differ by campus and contract year – however information regarding contributions, scholarships, sponsorships, capital investments, donations, and other in-kind support provided under the current agreement will not be disclosed. Proposers should describe any value-added services, financial contributions, scholarships, capital commitments, sponsorships, or other benefits they are proposing as part of their response.

20. Do you have any specific requests for new in-kind or annual donation support?

The University does not have a specific request for new in-kind or annual donations but will be looking for a vendor that will collaborate to identify future needs and how best to address those.

21. Do you receive commissions (e.g. catering, retail, concessions/alcohol)? If so, please provide the commission structure and the total commission dollar amount received in each of the past two (2) years.

The current agreement includes certain commissions, fees, and retained revenue arrangements associated with specific revenue streams. Rather than requiring proposers to match the existing financial structure, the campuses are seeking each proposer's recommended financial model, including any commissions, revenue sharing, fees, or other financial arrangements proposed as part of its response.

Equipment & Licensing

22. Card Access System/POS

• Who owns the card access system/POS for dining?

DSU owns the equipment

• Please provide the make, model, and date of purchase of the current Access & POS systems.

DSU utilizes Transact/Illumina for its POS software. The majority of the POS machines are NCR CX7 POS (acquired summer 2026) or Transact USB Contactless POS (acquired 7/3/2024).

• How much is the annual fee, and who pays for it?

The university provides and owns the equipment and pays the annual fee to maintain the equipment.

23. Who owns the Just Baked machine, the contractor or the school?

The Just Baked machine at DSU is not owned by either the university or current contract, but rather, is a monthly fee for utilization.

24. Please list the equipment, small equipment, and smallwares the incumbent will be taking from the premises if they do not retain the account.

All equipment, small equipment, and smallwares are owned by the university and will be retained by the university for use in the future by the vendor chosen to operate on campus.

Other

25. Please provide floor plans for all dining venues on campus. CAD or PDF file preferred.

PDFs will be provided via email to offerors present during the pre-submission conference call.

26. Who is on the RFP dining selection committee? Who is the key decision maker(s)?

The identities of evaluation committee members will not be disclosed during the procurement process.

Respondents should direct all questions and communications through the designated procurement contact identified in the RFP.