Nutrition Care Services 52.212-1_21 May 2025.docx

ADDENDUM TO FAR 52.212-1 – INSTRUCTION TO OFFERORS

The Defense Health Agency intend to award a single firm-fixed price contract for the Nutrition Care Services for the following Military Treatment Facilities: Keller Army Community Hospital (Westpoint, NY); Winn Army Community Hospital (Fort Stewart, GA); General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital (Fort Leonard Wood, MO); Irwin Army Community Hospital (Fort Riley, KS); and Weed Army Community Hospital (Fort Irwin, CA).

Offerors are hereby advised that the Randolph-Sheppard Act (RSA) (20 U.S.C. 107) applies to this solicitation. In addition to the evaluation criteria stated in the solicitation, and in the event that one or more RSA State Licensing Agencies (SLA) submits a proposal, the source selection will be carried out in accordance with 20 U.S.C. 107, 34 C.F.R. 395.33, and other relevant law and regulation as applicable. This notice is not intended to discourage competition as the solicitation is for a full and open competitive acquisition.

1. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

a. This section provides guidance for preparing proposals as well as specific instructions on the format and content of the proposals. Offerors are required to meet all solicitation requirements, including terms and conditions, representations and certifications, and technical requirements, in addition to those identified as evaluation factors. Failure to provide or omission of any of the identified information and/or documents set forth in this solicitation may result in a determination that the Offeror is unresponsive. Offerors that are unresponsive will be ineligible for award.

b. The Contracting Officer (CO) and Contract Specialist (CS) are the points of contact for this acquisition. The CO and CS for this acquisition are as follows:

c. Questions: Offerors shall submit questions regarding this solicitation via email to the solicitation CO and CS no later than five (5) business days after issuance of this solicitation. The Government is not required to answer any questions regarding this solicitation received more than five(5) business days after issuance of this solicitation. Be advised that all correspondence sent via e-mail shall contain a subject line that reads “HT9408-25-R-0010,” Nutrition Care Services”. Address all questions or concerns the offeror may have to the CO and CS.

d. All proposal information is subject to verification by DHA. The documentation shall be in the Offeror’s name as submitted in Block 17a of the Standard Form (SF) 1449, Solicitation/Contract/Order for Commercial Items, with a corresponding Cage Code and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Number. The proposal shall be clear, concise, and shall include sufficient detail for effective evaluation and for substantiating the validity of stated claims. The proposal shall not simply rephrase or restate the Government's requirements, but rather shall provide convincing rationale methods, processes and procedures to address how the offeror intends to meet these requirements. Offerors shall assume DHA has no prior knowledge of their company, and DHA will rely on documentation provided in the Offeror’s proposal. By signing the SF 1449, the Offeror acknowledges that their proposal is valid for a minimum of 180 calendar days after the proposal due date in Block 8.

e. Files shall not contain classified data and must adhere to the page limitations in Table 1, Proposal Organization. DHA will not read or evaluate pages exceeding any limitation identified in Table 1. Offerors shall adhere to the below formatting requirements:

• Page: 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper if electronic file was printed

• Paragraph: Separated by at least one blank line

• Page Numbering: Sequentially

• Font: Times New Roman Font or Arial Font; 12-point minimum Font size

• Margins: Top, Bottom, Left, Right shall be 1”

• Tables, graphs, and illustrations: Times New Roman Font or Arial Font; 8-point minimum Font size

• Page layout: Orientation may be portrait or landscape

f. Electronic Files Format: The proposal shall be submitted in a format readable by Microsoft (MS) Office 365, as applicable. The offeror shall save files in default format only (e.g., Word Document – Set “save as type” to “Word Document [*.docx]” and Excel spreadsheets – Set “save as type” to “Microsoft Excel Workbook [*.xlsx]”) and shall submit Portable Document Format (PDF) documents using Adobe Acrobat only. The Offeror shall not submit any documents in PDF format that are copied as “images.” When creating PDF files, the Offeror shall create the file to enable textual search and copy functions. Offerors shall not lock, encrypt, copy as an image, password protect or otherwise place barriers to opening files in their proposal submissions. In the event DHA cannot access the electronic proposal, DHA will consider the offer unresponsive, and the proposal may be deemed ineligible for award.

g. Representations and Certifications: Offerors shall ensure that the System for Award Management (SAM) database is current, complete, and applicable to this solicitation.

h. Cross-referencing: Each volume shall be written on a standalone basis so that its contents may be evaluated with no requirement to cross-reference to other volumes of the proposal. Information required for proposal evaluation which is not found in its designated volume will be assumed to have been omitted from the proposal. Offerors are responsible for the accuracy of their proposals and the Government will not search for information that is not provided in the required volume.

2. PROPOSAL ORGANIZATION

The Offeror shall organize the proposal as set forth in Table 1, Proposal Organization and subsequent detailed supporting documentation provided in proposal tabs. The Offeror shall organize its proposal by volume and submit the proposal labeled by volume number and title, as follows:

Volume I – Administrative Volume II – Technical Capability Volume III – Past Performance Volume IV – Price

Subpart 7: Contingency Plan

Subpart 1: Reference 1 (with applicable attachments)

Subpart 2: Reference 2 (with applicable attachments)

Subpart 3: Reference 3 (with applicable attachments)

Subpart 4: Reference 4 (with applicable attachments)

Subpart 5: Reference 5 (with applicable attachments)

2.1 Volume I – Administrative

In this volume of the proposal, the Offeror shall provide the following:

2.1.1. Subpart 1 - SF 1449, SOLICITATION/CONTRACT/ORDER FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS and SF 30, AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/ MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT:

2.1.1.1. Complete blocks 12, 17a, 23, 24, 30a, 30b, and 30c of the Request for Proposal (RFP) Section A, SF 1449. SF 1449, Solicitation/Contract/Order for Commercial Items and all SF 30, Amendment of Solicitation/Modification of Contract documents. The Offeror shall include a signed Page 1 of the Solicitation/Contract/Order for Commercial Items, (SF 1449) and Amendment of Solicitation/Modification of Contract, (SF 30). The Offeror’s signature shall be of an individual authorized to negotiate on behalf of the Offeror as identified in Tab 2.

2.1.2. Subpart 2 – Company Information:

2.1.2.1. Authorized Offeror Personnel. Provide the name, title, and telephone number of the point of contact responsible for the proposal and who can obligate your company contractually. Also, identify those individuals authorized to negotiate with DHA. Additionally, provide the name, title, and telephone number of the CEO, Division President, and/or Vice President of the company for notification purposes.

2.1.2.2. Company/Division Name and Address. Provide company/division’s street address, county; CAGE code; UEI number code; Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN).

2.1.2.3. Teaming/Organizational Structure (Attachment 1). If subcontractors or teaming partners are proposed, the Offeror shall complete Attachment 1 outlining their teaming/organizational structure. Attachment 1 shall be complete and clearly identify company names and addresses of all teaming partners or subcontractors that will perform under this contract. If the Offeror is part of a Joint Venture (JV), the Offeror shall provide a copy of the JV certification documentation. If the Offeror is part of Mentor-Protégé agreement or an 8(a) JV, the offeror shall provide a copy of the Small Business Administration (SBA) approved Mentor-Protégé agreement and/or JV certification documentation.

2.1.2.4. Companies shall not participate as a prime contractor or teaming partner/subcontractor on more than one (1) offer submitted in response to the Nutrition Care Food Service acquisition. It is the sole responsibility of the Offeror to ensure that teaming partners and subcontractors are not teamed with other offerors.

2.1.3. Subpart 3 - Representations and Certifications

2.1.3.1. Representation and Certifications: Complete the necessary fill-ins and certifications in Sections D through K in FAR 52.212-3. Section K shall be returned in its entirety. For Sections D through I, the offeror shall submit only those pages that require a fill-in.

2.1.5. Subpart 5 – Master Table of Contents

2.1.5.1. The Offeror shall provide a table of contents in the Administrative Volume that serves as an overall guide to what files are provided in electronic format, where they are located, file name and brief descriptions of the documents.

2.1.6. Subpart 6 – Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI)

2.1.6.1. The offeror shall provide a statement that no OCI exists. If an OCI does exist, the offeror shall state the mitigation plan.

FAR 52.203-13, Contractor Code of Business Ethics and Conduct (NOV 2021) Timely disclosure, in writing, to the agency OIG, with a copy to the Contracting Officer, whenever, in connection with the award, performance, or closeout of any Government contract performed by the Contractor or a subcontractor thereunder, the Contractor has credible evidence that a principal, employee, agent, or subcontractor of the Contractor has committed a violation of Federal criminal law involving fraud, conflict of interest, bribery, or gratuity violations found in Title 18 U.S.C. or a violation of the civil False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. 3729-3733).

2.2. Volume II – Technical Capability

2.2.1. Subpart 1 – Technical Approach

The technical approach shall clearly demonstrate how the offeror intends to meet each, but not limited to, of the following specific requirements in PWS Section 1 and PWS Section 5. The offeror shall provide specific narrative details and/or descriptions of its technical approach with actual methods, processes, and procedures that demonstrate the offeror’s compliance and understanding of each of the following PWS Section requirements included but not limited to:

PWS Section 1: 1.3 – 1.9; 1.15; 1.17; 1.18; 1.19; and 1.22 PWS Section 5: 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, and 5.8

In addition to the technical approach, the Offeror shall submit all the required Tab 1 -8 documents under this Technical Evaluation factor.

2.2.2 Subpart 2 – Transition Plan

The Offeror’s shall provide a transition plan IAW PWS section 1.16, which will include schedule for implementation of services; their approach for a seamless transition of current operations and workloads; proposed training to be conducted during transition to meet full performance requirements (IAW PWS section 5.7.7); and any administrative actions necessary to commence services on the performance start date, to include a milestone of significant events to occur during the 60 day transition describing required personnel and actions required to transition into full performance of the PWS.

2.2.3. Subpart 3 – Corporate Experience and Management

2.2.3.1. The Offeror shall submit an organizational chart that includes the Government Point of Contact (POC) and an alternative POC. The Offeror shall provide the communication process between employees and local and corporate management staff. The proposal will include management of any subcontractors.

2.2.4. Subpart 4 – Recruiting and Staffing Plan

2.2.4.1. The Offeror shall provide a detail explanation of Offeror’s plans for recruitment and retention of positions (initially hire personnel, ability to replace departing personnel, and retain personnel) to include a timeline of achieving 100% filled rate with personnel that possess required training at the start of full performance. The Offeror shall provide their personnel hiring practices and policies, background check policies; training practices and policies.

2.2.4.2. The Offeror shall provide its staffing plan to ensure it identifies adequate staffing that includes the labor categories and number of personnel proposed to successfully perform the required services in accordance with the PWS. The Offeror shall provide the appropriate amounts of qualified labor and management necessary to perform in a cost effective, safe and environmentally sound manner. This support will focus primarily on the following areas: Therapeutic Diet Education, Patient Room Service; Bulk Nourishments; Dining Room Services, and Grab and Go Services; Cash Collection; Cleanliness and Sanitation; Supply; Inspections, Reports and Meetings. The staffing plan shall also discuss practices including labor pool availability, incentives and innovative practices to maintain stable staff. The Offeror’s staffing plan shall demonstrate a methodology used to arrive at the proposed staffing at each location, minimizes personnel turnover, and allows for cross-training and cross-utilization of personnel to perform the requirements of the contract. The cross-utilization explanation shall be clearly understood and describe the positions being cross utilized, how they are capable in experience and function and how it will benefit the Government. Furthermore, Offeror shall identify all key and management position for each facility identifying their experiences to successfully execute their assigned duties within the MTFs. In addition, Offerors are to complete the staffing schedule (Attachment 2). Instructions are listed on the “Instruction” tab.

2.2.6. Subpart 6 – Quality Control Plan

The Offeror shall provide a quality control processes to assure full performance of the PWS to include a sample Quality Control Plan based on the Performance Requirement Summary found in the PWS Exhibit A. IAW PWS Section 1.11, the plan shall include, as a minimum: (1) an inspection system, (2) training plan, (3) cleaning schedule using alternative procedures listed in TB MED 530 Tri- Service Food Code (4) methods for identifying and preventing deficiencies, (5) processes for implementing corrective actions, (6) proposed complaint feedback system, and (7) identification of inspection records used for report.

2.2.7. Subpart 7 – Contingency Plan

The Offeror shall address, in detail, its procedures, personnel, and the means to accomplish mission requirements without delay in the event of sudden or unusual events that could impact the contractor's performance and contract requirements such as, but not limited to mobilization, terrorism, natural disaster, utility outages, or labor disputes. (PWS. Section 1.21.)

2.2.8 Subpart 8 – Therapeutic Diets Training Plan

The Offeror shall provide their Registered Dietitian training plan and how they will implement a therapeutic nutrition training and competency assessment program that aligns with accredited agencies evidenced based practice such as the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Training must include patient tray assembly procedures, and method for ensuring tray accuracy, and appropriate patient interaction for all contractors who perform these duties. This must include using proper patient identifiers and delivery procedures for behavioral health units, isolation rooms, or other precautionary rooms. (PWS. Section 5.1)

2.3 Volume III – Past Performance

2.3.1. The Offeror shall submit at least three (3) but no more than five (5) recent and relevant (See FAR 52.212-2 addendum) past performance references. If teaming partners, subcontractors or Joint Ventures are proposed, at least three (3) references of the five (5) maximum references shall be for the Prime Offeror and the remaining references may be used for teaming partner(s)/subcontractor(s)/Joint Ventures. All required documents shall be in a single pdf file and named IAW Table 1.

A complete past performance reference consists of:

a. Completed Contractor Performance Assessment Report (CPAR), if applicable;

b. Past Performance Questionnaire, if applicable (Attachment 4);

c. Performance Summary Subcontracting/Teaming Partner Consent letter, if applicable (Attachment 5), and/or

d. Client Authorization Letter, if applicable (Attachment 6).

2.3.2. Past Performance Questionnaire (PPQ) (required when a completed CPAR is not available for the past performance reference) (Attachment 4): The Offeror is responsible for initiating a PPQ only if the past performance reference has not had an official CPAR (either an interim report for contracts with on-going performance, or a final report for completed contracts, that has been issued by the Approving Official (AO), reviewed by the contractor, and finalized by the AO or Reviewing Official, as appropriate) within the recency window. Offeror will forward the questionnaire to the primary customer Point of Contact (POC) for completion and signature. The primary customer who is responsible for completing the PPQ will send signed PPQ directly to the Contracting Officer and Contract Specialist upon completion. Other sources shall also be considered if deemed necessary to ascertain an accurate picture of past performance.

2.3.3. Subcontractor/Teaming Partner Consent Letter (required when the offeror expects that major or critical aspects of the requirement will be performed by subcontractors) (Attachment 5): Past performance information pertaining to a subcontractor cannot be disclosed to the prime Offeror without the subcontractor’s consent. Offerors shall provide a letter from all subcontractors that will perform major or critical aspects of the requirement consenting to the release of their past performance information to the Offeror in the proposal.

2.3.4. Client Authorization Letter (required if applicable) (Attachment 6): Each Offeror, teaming partner, and/or JV partner shall execute a Client Authorization Letter for commercial customers.

2.4. Volume IV - Pricing

2.4.1. The current contract is subject to the Service Contract Labor Standards (SCLS). A Department of Labor (DoL) Wage Determination and/or a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is in force at each location. (PWS Exhibits J1, J2, J3, J4 and J5) Failure to fully comply with the SCLS/CBA requirements in preparation of the Price Proposal will be considered an omission or deficiency.

2.4.2. This requirement is exempt from the requirement of Certified Cost or Pricing Data because it is commercial.

2.4.3. The Offeror shall provide other than certified cost or pricing data, in the form of cost element breakout and narrative, which describes in sufficient detail and supports the elements that make up the total proposed line item pricing identified in Volume V.

2.4.4. The Offeror shall provide a comprehensive breakout of proposed staffing by category showing full time equivalents (FTEs), hours, and labor rates. This breakout shall reconcile to staffing provided in the technical proposal, except for labor rates.

2.4.5. Offerors are to complete the appropriate tab on the Pricing Sheet Template (Attachment 7). Instructions are listed on the “Instruction” tab of the Pricing Sheet Template. Offerors are to enter pricing in the green areas only. Do NOT change the formulas or any other numbers.

2.4.6. Pricing information shall be addressed ONLY in Volume V. A proposal will not be evaluated if it contains pricing information outside of Volume V. The offeror shall verify the accuracy of its prices.

2.4.7. An Offeror’s total evaluated proposed price includes the sum of all prices for all CLINs in the base year plus all options, to include FAR 52.217-8, Option to Extend Services. The Government will evaluate its option to extend services by adding six months of the offeror's final option year price to the offeror's total price. The Government may deem it necessary to execute 52.217-8 prior to the final option period. In such case, the active option’s pricing will be used to determine the 52.217-8 pricing.

2.4.8. Firm Fixed Price (FFP) CLINs, CLINS 0001-0005, 1001-1005, 2001-2005, 3001-3005, and 4001-4005. Offeror shall provide cost for each location in accordance with the wage determination or collective bargaining agreement for that location. (PWS Exhibits J1, J2, J3, J4, and J5) Contractor Manpower Reporting (CMR), CLINs 0006, 1006, 2006, 3006, and 4006. Transition period. CLIN 0007. Offerors shall price these CLINs if they are going to have a cost for transition. CLIN 0008, 1008, 2008, 3008 and 4008 will be a pre-filled amount by the Government relating to small wares and shall not be altered by the Offeror.