Local Seafood RFI - Final.pdf

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Request for Information (RFI)

For Supply of Local Seafood for School Districts in

Massachusetts – With a Preference for Locally Landed, Sourced, or Value-Added Food Products

May 2026

Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC)

60 Temple Place, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02111

Contact: Kelsi Champley, Municipal Collaboration

Phone: 617.933.0766 / E-Mail: kchampley@mapc.org

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Purpose

School districts across Greater Boston are interested in increasing the amount of local food served through their child nutrition programs, specifically local fresh seafood or local value-added seafood options. Please note, this is a Request for Information (RFI) and not a bid.

There is no guarantee of a bid nor a contract as a result of the information provided by respondents to this RFI.

Background

MAPC and Massachusetts Farm to Schools (MFTS) have been working in the realm of fresh, local produce for several years. Previously, MAPC did release bids for seafood, but that program lapsed at the end of 2021. However, the success of the fresh local produce program has spurred a conversation about seafood for schools in the region.

Objectives

The partners to this RFI are soliciting information from local seafood and seafood product providers, including distributors, processors, product freezing companies and food commissary services or other such entities. MAPC and MFTS are hopeful that a diverse pool of seafood providers will respond with details of how they can meet demand for increasing the amount of local fresh seafood or value-added seafood products served in their schools, as well as any concerns surrounding delivery, and the types of products available for schools to purchase.

Local Preference

The RFI is seeking a information regarding seafood from local sources, defined as: food landed within the six New England states and New York. Local food should be labelled with the state and producer/location of origin/landed location for the fresh, value-added, or frozen products.

Proof of Origin

School districts seeking an increase in local food provision have often been unable to obtain regular labelling and information regarding the origin of the food they receive. As mentioned previously, we want to know where the food came from by the state and producer or location of origin. It would be desirable for providers to be able to provide this information throughout the purchasing process using producer traceability systems or other mechanisms for tracking and reporting product origin. This would include listing source information on order

3 | P a g e guides and receivables lists, labelling on delivered goods and noting it on invoices. It would also be reportable to school districts on at least a quarterly basis. All such information could help districts make more informed purchases and understand the source of the food they serve their students.

Questions for Respondents

To better understand what seafood providers are able to offer and their ability to meet preferences for local seafood or seafood products, respondents are asked to answer the following questions:

1) Please describe the amount of local seafood and/or seafood products you can provide (by product) and, if you are not a producer, the sources you obtain the food from. Associated with your answer to this question, please also provide the overall quantity of products you estimate you can provide (either by pound or by numerical quantity, depending on your product, and please provide an estimate of the % of each product you believe could be provided from local/locally landed sources. It is understood that certain local seafood from producers will only be available during certain times of the year, so we also ask for information on which months of the year all the local seafood items/products you are listing could be provided to schools.

2) Are you able to provide proof of the sourcing/origin of the food you provide? Do you use producer traceability systems? Are you able to include (or would consider including) information relating to product origin in order guides, invoices or on via product labels? Can you provide Velocity Reports for your options? Please describe how your organization tracks and reports on local origin or would propose to do so.

3) Can you describe your supply chain (or prospective supply chain) for meeting the needs of school districts in general terms? If you are a processor, it would be good to understand how and from whom you receive product, and how your value-added food is then distributed to buyers. No market sensitive information needs to be provided here – only generalized information is requested.

4) Does your organization have the capacity to supply seafood or value-added seafood products regularly to multiple school districts across Massachusetts with multiple school (or drop) locations? Does your organization require any minimum delivery

4 | P a g e thresholds to be met or set prices for delivery by each stop made? Please describe any history your organization has with serving institutions across a regional geography and any delivery thresholds/pricing you currently employ. If a specific delivery range is in place, please provide the specifics for that range.

Submission Instructions

Respondents are asked to fill out the attached “Respondent’s Information Sheet” as a cover page to your response. You can find that sheet at Appendix A. The sheet asks for basic background information on your organization and its history working with school districts or other similar institutions.

Under that sheet, please provide answers to the four questions shown previously in a word document. There is no page limit in answering these questions; concise but informative answers are however appreciated.

You should also submit any additional information regarding the data on the amount of local seafood products overall you estimate could be provided and the months of the year that local seafood could be available.

Additional details may be requested by MAPC and MFTS in follow-up correspondence.

Supporting documentation will be accepted, but the respondent must indicate which portions of the supporting document are relevant to this RFI.

Questions and requests for clarification should be addressed in writing to Kelsi Champley via e-mail at kchampley@mapc.org. MAPC will post the RFI and all answers to questions on the agency’s website at http://www.mapc.org/publicmeetings so that all potential respondents may have access to the answers.

Please submit your response electronically via email to kchampley@mapc.org no later than

5:00 pm on Friday, May 29, 2026. MAPC reserves the right to extend this deadline for up to an additional thirty (30) days.

MAPC shall not be liable for any costs or expenses incurred by any Provider in connection with this RFI or any response by any Provider to this RFI. No compensation will be paid to providers for responding to this RFI. The costs and expenses incurred by a Provider in the mailto:kchampley@mapc.org http://www.mapc.org/publicmeetings

5 | P a g e preparation, submission, and presentation of the response are the sole responsibility of the

Provider and shall not be charged to MAPC.

This document is a Request for Information only. MAPC will not make any award of a contract and may not take any further action on the basis of this Request for Information.

Provider’s response will be treated only as information to MAPC for whatever use MAPC deems appropriate.

Ownership of all data, materials, and documentation originated and prepared for MAPC pursuant to this RFI shall belong exclusively to MAPC and shall be subject to public inspection in accordance with the Massachusetts Public Records Law. Trade secrets or proprietary information submitted by the Provider shall not be subject to public disclosure under the Massachusetts Public Records Law, unless otherwise required by law or a court.

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APPENDIX A - RESPONDENT’S INFORMATION SHEET

Respondent’s Name and Organization _________________________________

What Type of Business Are You? Please check all that apply of the choices below:

__ Wholesale/Dealer

__ Distributor

__ Harvester

__ Producer

__ Value-Add Produce Producer

__ Freezing Entity/Commissary

__ Processor

__ Other (please describe) ___________________________________

Please describe your operation (up to 75 words)

How many years have you been in operation? ____

Please mark if your operation does the following, (check all applicable)

__ Food production: seafood, seafood products

__ Food processing:

__ Food aggregation and storage

__ Food distribution and shipping

__ Food wholesaling

__ Other (please describe) __________________________________

What food safety certifications do you currently have, if any?

__ Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)

__ Good Handling Practices (GHP)

__ HACCP

__ Other (please describe) ____________________________________

Have you (or do you) provided food to schools or other institutions previously? Y/N ___

Have you provided a significant quantity of local foods to schools? Y/N __

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If the answer to either of the above questions was Y, please briefly describe which schools/institutions you have worked with and what food you have provided them (up to

200 words)

THANK YOU FOR RESPONDING!!!