RFPM26006396 - MPA 421 - SOW.pdf

SOLICITATION SPECIFICATIONS

RFPM26006396 - REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL MASTER PRICE AGREEMENT

STATEWIDE SCHOOL FOOD SERVICES PROGRAM – MPA #421

DESCRIPTION: The Rhode Island Department of Administration/Division of Purchases, on behalf of the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (“RIDE”), is soliciting proposals from qualified firms to provide a Statewide school food services program memorialized as Master Price Agreement (“MPA”) 421. Since 2007, the State has offered this program to improve the nutrition and health of Rhode Island’s students and ensure maximum cost savings and efficiency of services. The program includes both State and SFA-level activities that must occur annually throughout the term of the contract.

PRE-BID/PROPOSAL CONFERENCE: NO

BONDING REQUIREMENTS:

BID SURETY BOND REQUIRED: NO

PAYMENT AND PERFORMANCE BOND REQUIRED: NO

CONTRACT TERMS

The initial contract period will begin approximately July 1, 2026 for one year. Contracts may be renewed for up to four (4) additional 12-month periods (each a “Renewal Year”) based on vendor performance and the availability of funds at the sole discretion of the State. This option shall be automatically exercised unless the RIDE notifies the vendor in writing not less than ninety (90) days prior to the start of a Renewal Year.

Insurance Requirements

In accordance with this solicitation, or as outlined in Section 13.19 of the General Conditions of

Purchase, found at https://rules.sos.ri.gov/regulations/part/220-30-00-13 and General Conditions

- Addendum A found at https://ridop.ri.gov/about-us/procurement-statutes-and-regulations, the following insurance coverage shall be required of the awarded vendor(s):

General Requirements:

13a) ☒ Liability - combined single limit of $1,000,000 per occurrence, $1,000,000 general aggregate and $1,000,000 products/completed operations aggregate.

13b) ☒ Workers compensation - $100,000 each accident, $100,000 disease or policy limit and $100,000 each employee.

13c) ☒ Automobile liability - $1,000,000 each occurrence combined single limit.

Professional Services:

https://rules.sos.ri.gov/regulations/part/220-30-00-13 https://ridop.ri.gov/about-us/procurement-statutes-and-regulations

13g) ☒ Working with Children, Elderly or Disabled Persons – Physical Abuse and

Molestation Liability Insurance - $1 Million per occurrence.

Information Technology and/or Cyber/Privacy:

13h) ☒ Technology Errors and Omissions - Combined single limit per occurrence shall not be less than $5,000,000. Annual aggregate limit shall not be less than $5,000,000.

SECTION A. BACKGROUND

The Rhode Island Department of Administration/Division of Purchases, on behalf of the Rhode

Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, is soliciting proposals from qualified firms to provide a statewide school food services program (“Program”), in accordance with the terms of this solicitation and the State’s General Conditions of Purchase, which may be obtained at the Division of Purchases’ website at https://ridop.ri.gov/.

Currently, Rhode Island’s School Food Authorities (“SFAs”) have several options in procuring the services of a food service management company to operate their school food service programs.

SFAs may hire their own employees to operate the program or choose to contract with private vendors to operate local school food service programs on an SFA-by-SFA basis. These procurements must be facilitated in accordance with all federal and State requirements, and the procurement process is reviewed by RIDE as required by the United States Department of

Agriculture (“USDA”).

School districts, State schools, and charter schools are also authorized to join a Statewide school food service program through a contract with a single State vendor procured by RIDE, which is the focus of this solicitation. It is the intent that the Statewide contract serves as an umbrella contract under which each participating district, State school, and charter school will execute a separate mini-contract (“SFA contract”) with a qualified vendor. The State contract will enable participating districts and schools to execute their SFA contracts to be effective beginning July 1, 2026. Participating districts and schools may sign a contract, not to exceed one year in length, with the option to renew for each subsequent year in which the Statewide contract remains in effect.

Since 2007, the State and the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education have offered this

Program to improve the nutrition and health of Rhode Island’s students and ensure maximum cost savings and efficiency of services. The Program includes both State and SFA-level activities that must occur annually throughout the term of the contract. Currently, twenty-six SFAs have opted to join the Program. This includes twenty-four of the thirty-six municipal school districts, one of four State-operated schools, and one of twenty-three charter schools. Note that additional schools participate in the Program through another agreement type.

Other goals of the Program are to improve and increase the consistency of program operations across the State in areas such as the use of technology; planning of school lunch educational efforts;

purchase and distribution of commodities, staff professional development, increasing student participation, with a particular focus on breakfast participation; menu planning; sustainability & reduction of food waste; procurement of local foods; and the maintenance and upgrading of equipment.

The awarded vendor is required to operate a Program that:

https://ridop.ri.gov/

• Improves student health and nutrition by:

o offering students foods which meet and exceed the USDA nutrition regulations, and the Rhode Island Nutrition Requirements as set forth in 200-RICR-20-25-4;

o increasing student participation in the school meals programs with a particular emphasis on breakfast expansion through alternative service models;

o supporting eligible schools’ participation in the USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable

Program (“FFVP”);

o supporting participation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (“CACFP”) at-risk afterschool meals program and Summer Food Service Program (“SFSP”) at all eligible school sites;

o actively participating in the successful implementation of the Local School

Wellness Policies; and o offering regional transportation of food and related program materials/equipment when feasible.

o discouraging the use of a-la-carte items, which tend to be less nutritious than other offerings and which result in less federal reimbursement for the SFA.

o increasing the involvement of school personnel, parents and students in food choices, wellness policies/programs and food safety concerns.

o developing and maintaining the cafeteria as a nutrition/wellness education-learning environment;

o incorporates resources from community partners that enhance student engagement and awareness of their local food system such as Farm Fresh Rhode Island’s

Harvest of the Month, URI SNAP-Ed's Students Take Charge Program, RI Healthy

Schools Coalition’s Local Food Ambassador’s Taste Test Program, etc.

o actively working to increase the amount of menu items that are prepared “from scratch” (defined as prepared from fresh, whole ingredients, rather than using pre-assembled, processed, or heat-and-serve components).

• Is equitable, accountable, and transparent by:

o actively engaging the school community including students, teachers, parents and administrators to provide feedback on the Program to increase participation;

o tracking all food purchased for the Program on a monthly basis in a platform chosen by RIDE. The minimum level of data required for tracking purchases is invoice date, invoice number, receiving facility (SFA) name, receiving facility address, item name, supplier name, production address, production State, and item price. State level administrators will not have visibility into item-level pricing data, they will only be able to see aggregate spend per product (e.g. blueberries, chicken) and source (e.g. local, regional, other). The associated invoices (or copies) should be easily retrievable if requested during an Administration Review.

o reporting the aggregate dollar value of all food items used in the Program and amount of local and regional foods used as a percentage of total food spend in school meal programs to SFAs on a quarterly basis.

o providing ongoing monitoring of and reporting on the state of school food service facilities and equipment, including the development of capital improvement plans;

o providing full disclosure of all discounts, rebates, allowances, credits and incentives received by the management company from suppliers as required by USDA;

o making full use of the USDA Foods offerings;

o saving the SFAs money in the management services fee, the general support services fee, and in direct operating costs wherever possible, including, but not limited to, streamlining and cooperatively sharing management activities amongst smaller SFAs. The State envisions that SFA school food service managers operate on a regional basis supporting multiple SFAs.

o seeking the lowest cost for large food and equipment purchases by comparing price bids from a minimum of three quotes and identifying all procurement service fees;

o transporting foods and meals in the most efficient manner possible, including across district lines;

o promoting maximum utilization of the USDA National School Lunch Program

(“NSLP”), School Breakfast Program (“SBP”), After School Snack, At-Risk Meals and Summer Food Service Programs and actively discouraging use of the a la carte programs in place of a nutritious, reimbursable meal;

o seeking ways to increase food service revenue by encouraging reimbursable meals to students, by promoting meals to teachers and school staff, by catering school activities, by operating vending where opportunities exist, and by preparing vended meals;

o utilizing school POS that interfaces with school attendance systems for enrollment and students’ eligibility in order to collect and report accurate daily meal counts, and directly uploads to RIDE’s online claiming system for Federal monthly school meals reimbursements (by-passing any third-party systems);

o providing detailed participation and financial data to RIDE on a monthly and annual basis in conjunction with the Net Cash Resource reporting requirement;

o meeting with RIDE at least quarterly to review progress towards state and SFA level fiscal, participation and programmatic goals;

o ensuring all food safety inspections are conducted that meet USDA’s regulations (7

CFR Parts 210 and 220) of two inspections per school each school year; and o ensuring that every kitchen develops, maintains and implements a HACCP Plan according to USDA’s Regulations (Public Law 108-265, Sec. 111, 9(h) no. 5).

o implementing innovative service models to increase participation in school meals programs;

o actively collecting and incorporating feedback from students to ensure their school meal program reflects their cultural backgrounds and dietary preferences.

o working towards adequate and well-maintained equipment, owned by the SFA and not the Vendor;

o actively supporting the SFA in complying with all current school waste laws that relate to the federal child nutrition programs, including but not limited to R.I. Gen.

Laws § 16-111-2 (waste audit/report), R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-22-35 (littering prevention and recycling awareness program), R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-18.9-17 (food waste ban), and R.I. Gen. Laws § 21-27.3-2 (disposal of food service containers), including ensuring that all Vendor staff is aware of and trained in compliance with these requirements.

o As part of compliance with the food waste diversion laws, and R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-

111-5 (food donations by food service companies), commit to returning un-opened milks, yogurts, bags of carrots to the refrigerators/coolers and collaborate with the

SFA to increase food access and reduce food waste through strategies such as share tables, share fridges, share carts, community fridge, etc.

• Invests in local and community-based economies by:

o utilizing local and regional unprocessed or minimally processed foods in the federal child nutrition programs to the maximum extent possible. For the purposes of this solicitation, local and regional foods are defined as follows:

▪ Local: Unprocessed or minimally processed agricultural, aquaculture, or seafood products that have been grown/harvested/raised in RI and/or foods processed in RI.

▪ Regional: Unprocessed or minimally processed agricultural, aquaculture, or seafood products that have been grown/harvested/raised in CT, MA, NH, ME, or VT (excluding fluid milk) and/or foods processed in CT, MA, NH, ME, or VT.

o For the purposes of this solicitation, “unprocessed products” means only those agricultural, aquaculture, or seafood products that retain their inherent character.

The effects of the following handling and preservation techniques shall not be considered as changing an agricultural, aquaculture, or seafood product into a product of a different inherent character and therefore products having gone through these processes would still be considered to be “unprocessed agricultural products”:

cooling, refrigerating, freezing; size adjustment through size reduction made by peeling, slicing, dicing, cutting, chopping, shucking, and grinding; drying/ dehydration; washing; the application of high water pressure or “cold pasteurization”; packaging (such as placing eggs in cartons) and vacuum packing and bagging (such as placing vegetables in bags); butchering livestock, fish and poultry; and the pasteurization of milk. “Processed” foods include those that have gone through heating, pasteurizing, blanching, cooking, canning, freezing, drying, dehydrating, mixing or packaging.

o purchasing a minimum of at least 5% local foods and 5% regional foods (not including fluid milk) as defined above and increasing the percentage of local and regional food spend to a minimum of 15% local and 15% regional (not including fluid milk) by 2030 as measured by the percent of total food cost.

o actively engaging with and supporting the SFA’s farm-to-school initiatives, including serving produce grown by the students enrolled in the SFA.

o providing regional staff development programs and activities for school food service staff;

o working towards hiring all food service staff as employees of Vendor over time for consistency and efficiency among SFAs unless an SFA opts to retain food service staff as their employees;

o working towards having all food service staff certified in food safety by a RI recognized food safety course over time.

• Improves the environmental sustainability of the school, kitchen, and cafeteria by;

o reducing food waste and offering environmentally sustainable solutions for food service plating and packaging.

SECTION B: SCOPE OF WORK AND REQUIREMENTS

General Scope of Work The work of this contract can be organized into two general categories:

State Level Scope of Work. School food service implementation/operational activities conducted at the state level for all SFAs enrolled: ancillary/complementary efforts of interest to the state such as improving fiscal and other data reporting through statewide adoption of a

POS that interacts with RIDE’s online claim for reimbursement system and district/school enrollment student counting systems; and

SFA Level Scope of Work. School food service program operations at the SFA level:

including equipment maintenance and replacement; increasing parent/student involvement;

participation, food safety courses for food service workers; staff development; and transportation within SFAs.

The tasks below outline the State level and SFA level activities, deliverables and time frames.

Please note that oversight of all state level activities will be carried out by RIDE or a RIDE designee. SFA oversight and interactions with the Vendor are intended to remain consistent with those described in current individual SFA agreements.

Specific Activities/Tasks

State Level Activities:

Task Due Date Deliverable

1. Accomplish a state level overview of participating SFAs’ needs related to the

Program; include those items discussed within this RFP’s scope of work and program overview.

December 1, Needs assessment conducted; report submitted.

2. Develop a State Plan & template for communication and reporting to RIDE on progress towards fiscal and programmatic goals.

September 1, 2026; Quarterly thereafter

Plan & templates developed; reports submitted

3. Develop a plan for FSMC and relevant

SFA staff development that includes wellness education and activities and conforms to USDA professional standards requirements.

August 1, 2027;

Annually thereafter

Plan developed.

4. Execute individual agreements or agreement renewals with all participating SFAs.

Prior to July 1 annually

Contracts approved and fully executed.

5. Develop a State Plan that responds to

SFA needs for requesting and distributing USDA Foods including fruits and vegetables (note: the Vendor must coordinate with the State

Department of Corrections, Central

Distributions Center and/or any other appropriate agency to carry out this task). Please see Appendix Q for access to data on the amount of USDA Foods each community currently receives.

August 2026;

annually thereafter

State plan developed.

6. Develop a State Plan that includes using locally grown, harvested, raised, and/or processed food products, to the maximum extent possible, identifying key suppliers and products. Include a plan for local product use, including how items grown/raised by the SFA can be incorporated into the meal programs.

Report to RIDE.

August 2026;

plan annually thereafter;

State plan & reporting template developed;

reports submitted

7. Report on the total amount of locally and regionally grown, harvested, raised, and/or processed food items used in the production of school meals as

Tracked

Monthly, shared with RIDE quarterly

Reports submitted.

percentage of total dollars spent on all food purchases in accordance with the state plan and templates.

8. Develop a State Plan to increase student participation with special focus on increasing breakfast participation through alternative delivery models and increasing participation in at-risk afterschool meals program and summer food service program for eligible sites.

Develop a reporting template for delivery models and participation metrics. Report to RIDE.

December 2026;

plan annually by

August 1 thereafter;

reports quarterly

State plan & reporting template developed;

reports submitted.

9. Develop a State Plan to implement/ upgrade SFA school food service technology (electronic meal accountability systems) in accordance with the requirements outlined in

Appendix H.

December 2026 State plan developed.

10. Develop a State Plan that considers efficiencies that could be implemented based on the geographic location and number of participating SFAs.

December 2026;

annually by

August 1 thereafter

State plan developed.

11. Develop a State Plan to ensure compliance with the USDA “Buy

American” provision found in 7 CFR

210.21(d).

August 2026 State plan developed.

12. Meet with RIDE and report on the costs of food and USDA Foods; the fiscal status (deficit/surplus) of each participating SFA; the level of participation by type of meal for each participating SFA; progress on the implementation of all developed state plans; and any other data required by the state per the annual negotiation of statewide reports and activities. See

Appendix G.

Quarterly Reports submitted

13. Develop a plan that describes how

Vendor will comply with current school waste laws that relate to the federal child nutrition programs and environmental sustainability of the Program with a specific focus on packaging, composting, food recovery, and details how Vendor will utilize all available flexibilities for the repurposing of food items. See Appendix R. Develop a reporting template for progress & participation. Report to SFA.

December 2026;

plan annually thereafter; report quarterly

State plan & reporting template developed;

reports submitted.

SFA Level Activities

Task Due Date Deliverable

1. Develop a local plan to ensure adequate oversight by a food service director, general manager and/or district manager for each participating SFA in accordance with the RIDE SFA agreement and

Additional Vendor

Requirements/Qualifications of this solicitation (see below).

August 1, 2026

& annually thereafter

Local plans written.

2. Plan for and provide breakfasts, lunch, special milk, afterschool snacks, at-risk meals, and summer meals as applicable in accordance with each SFA agreement and the State Plan.

2a. Report to the SFA on current delivery models, participation numbers, barriers to participation, gaps in programming offering (i.e. programs not served/offered) proposed solutions including anticipated cost and participation increases.

Quarterly

Plans developed;

reports submitted.

3. Plan for and provide fresh fruit and vegetable program food selected in accordance with each SFA agreement and the State Plan.

3a. Develop a detailed plan for the incorporation of nutrition education into the FFVP on a daily basis at participating schools.

August 1, 2026;

annually thereafter

Plans developed

4. Plan and provide for all parent/student and school staff involvement in keeping with the state plan and in accordance with each SFA agreement.

4a. Report to SFA on engagement efforts and results.

Quarterly Plans developed;

reports submitted.

5. Plan and provide for all equipment/facility upgrades in accordance with each SFA agreement and the state plan. This includes policies and procedures for competitive bidding of equipment, and vendor ownership over time of all vehicles used to transport food/meals, etc. in order to streamline and improve the efficiency of such deliverables across SFAs.

5a. Create an inventory of all existing foodservice equipment including all preparing, transport, holding, cleaning, and technology equipment with

Annually Plans developed;

equipment inventory created.

approximate ages, condition of equipment, ownership of equipment and anticipated repair/replacement needs and cost.

5b. Develop a capital improvement plan that addresses the SFAs equipment repair/replacement needs and prepares for full implementation of all school meals programs using innovative delivery service models to maximize participation

6. Plan and provide all fiscal and data oversight and reporting in accordance with the state plan and each SFA agreement.

Monthly

Plans developed;

reports submitted.

7. Plan and provide for staff development, including culinary skills training and wellness education, in accordance with the state plan, each SFA agreement, and

Federal Professional Standards requirements.

Annually Plans developed.

8. Ensure on-going compliance with the

USDA “Buy American” provision found in 7 CFR 210.21(d).

On-going, annual basis, September to

June, unless otherwise noted.

Food purchased.

9. Negotiate the amount of the fiscal guarantee, in accordance with the fiscal guarantee structure contained in the SFA

Contract. The SFA Contract is attached hereto as Appendix K.

Annually Level of guarantee established.

10. Charge a reasonable, consistent management services fee and general support services fee to all participating

SFAs in SFY 26-27 and beyond. The fixed fees will be those established in the

Statewide Contract. This amount may be increased by RIDE over the life of the contract by mutual consent based on the

US Department of Labor, Consumer

Price Index for February all Urban

Consumers, all items over the last 12 months.

Annually Costs established.

Fixed per meal equivalent management and general support fees established and included in agreements.

11. Develop and use a standard invoice format for all participating SFAs which complies with USDA invoicing and reporting requirements.

Monthly Standard invoice developed and used.

12. Monitor school food service program expenditures and revenues; report on these on a regular basis; and prepare

Monthly Reports submitted.

written plans to address any operating deficit or to use operating surpluses with state approval as needed. The intent is that no program operates on a deficit basis and that surplus funds be used to improve program or address equipment needs.

13. Report on the total amount of locally and regionally grown, harvested, raised, and/or processed food items used in the production of school meals as percentage of total dollars spent on all food purchases in accordance with the state plan and templates.

Tracked

Monthly, shared with

SFA and

District

Wellness

Committee quarterly and annually

Reports submitted.

14. Develop a plan in conjunction with SFA staff to purchase a POS for each site if there are not already in the district, as outlined in the state plan. Plans must consider the need for mobile POS technology to accommodate alternative meal delivery service models and should also strive to integrate/interface POS software with any existing attendance and/or meal benefit application software utilized by the SFA. Plans must include provisions for the collection and processing of electronic meal benefit applications. If the SFA has such a system, the Vendor will optimize the use of the POS to avoid incorrect and inconsistent data, to promote over time a single, seamless statewide school meal fiscal/data system, to collect and report accurate daily meal counts that interfaces with school attendance systems for enrollment and students’ eligibility, and that directly uploads to

RIDE’s online system for Federal monthly school meals reimbursements

(bypassing any third party systems). See

Appendix H.

Annually Plan developed.

14. Develop a plan that describes how

Vendor will comply with current school waste laws that relate to the federal child nutrition programs and environmental sustainability of the

Program with a specific focus on packaging, composting, food recovery and details how Vendor will utilize all

Annually Plan developed, shared with SFA.

available flexibilities for the repurposing of food items. See

Appendix R. Develop a reporting template for progress & participation.

Report to SFA.

Additional Vendor Requirements/Qualifications

The Vendor must meet all requirements mandated by USDA and required by this solicitation including but not limited to:

1. The Vendor must have all the appropriate qualifications and experiences required by the

USDA.

2. The Vendor will provide all bonds and sureties required by the USDA.

3. The Vendor will over time employ all school food service workers and will employ all new workers giving preference to current staff. This will include the required background checks for all employees.

4. Bonus and/or incentive compensation for any school food service employee will total no more than 5% of that employee’s base pay for the fiscal year in which the bonus is paid. Such costs must be paid or accrued pursuant to an agreement entered in good faith between the FSMC and the employee before the services were rendered or pursuant to an established plan followed by the FSMC so consistently as to imply, in effect, an agreement to make such payment. No bonus and/or incentive payments shall be made unless the SFA is projected to have a positive net operating balance for the school food service operation at the close of the fiscal year in which the bonus is to be paid.

5. The Vendor will coordinate all food inspections with any private/public agency conducting said inspections and shall ensure that all inspections conducted by the vendor meet applicable

Rhode Island Department of Health requirements.

6. The Vendor will demonstrate compliance with the federal Hazard Analysis and Critical

Control Point (HACCP) requirement for Food Safety in each kitchen and the federal Wellness

Policy Requirement in each district/school.

7. The Vendor must execute all required state-approved agreements with participating SFAs including all cost schedules and fee breakdowns. The SFA Contract is attached hereto as

Appendix K. This SFA Contract contains the core contract provisions that form a part of this procurement and cannot be altered by agreement of the SFA and the Vendor.

8. The Vendor will provide/ensure that all meals or snacks to be claimed for federal reimbursement will conform with all federal requirements and guidelines as described in 7

CFR 210, 215, 220, 225, 226 and subsequent policy guidance and regulations.

9. The Vendor must sign an attestation (see Appendix S) that they are in compliance with Rhode

Island General Law Title 16 – Education Chapter 16-111 - School Waste Recycling and Refuse

Disposal in each SFA that they operate.

Additional SFA Level Requirements for Vendor

The Vendor is to provide management and consulting services for the SFA’s school food service program and to cooperatively plan and continuously improve the Program. The following conditions must be met at a minimum and addressed in the proposal:

1. The FSMC must be of sufficient size and have the necessary expertise to furnish the resources needed to manage, and continuously improve, the SFA’s School Food Service operation. The following qualifying data must be submitted by each contractor along with the proposal:

a. The FSMC must have done business for five (5) consecutive years or more with SFAs.

In lieu of organizational experience, staff expertise must be demonstrated.

b. Any interested FSMC must be willing to provide a performance bond from a company licensed in Rhode Island in the amount of 10% of the total contract value for each SFA, should it be awarded. A surety letter from an acceptable bonding or surety company indicating ability to obtain the bond must be included with the pre-qualification data.

SFA contracts that include operation of the SFSP must include a performance bond in the amount of 10% of the total contract value; the inclusion of a performance bond for contracts that do not include operation of the SFSP will be at each individual SFA’s discretion but shall not exceed 10% of the total contract value. This performance bond will guarantee the vendor's faithful performance of all terms of the Agreement throughout the life of the Agreement.

c. Annual audited financial statements for the past three consecutive years for the bidding entity and parent company, if any, must be included with the proposal.

d. By submitting a proposal, the interested company certifies acceptance of the state’s criteria for selection.

2. The FSMC must have extensive involvement and experience in School Food Services in the following fields or be able to demonstrate comparable competency. Development of model programs in these areas may be advantageous:

a. Designing facilities.

b. Selecting and procuring food service equipment.

c. Nutrition.

d. Menu planning.

e. Purchasing of local foods.

f. Fresh foods scratch cooking.

g. Increasing student participation while complying with the RI Nutrition

Requirements and the new USDA Meal Patterns and Nutrition Specifications.

h. On-site production.

i. Quality control.

j. Employee supervision.

k. Staff management training.

l. Employee motivation and positive involvement.

m. Marketing.

n. Public relations.

o. Financial Management Systems.

p. Innovative service delivery models.

q. Sustainability.

r. Student, Family, Staff and Community Engagement.

3. The FSMC must specify a point of contact to act as Resident District Manager to direct the

School Food Service Program and to implement the cooperatively agreed upon upgrades. The

District Manager and a Food Service Director must be identified by June 1, 2026.

4. To the extent possible, hourly food service employees currently employed by the SFA or the current FSMC will be retained by the FSMC. Staffing levels and assignments are to be recommended by the FSMC and approved by the SFA.

5. The FSMC shall recommend hours and the number of positions needed at each feeding site in order to meet national standards in food service for meals served per labor hour.

6. The SFA's School Food Service Program should be a self-sufficient operation. Funds to pay for consulting and management services and upgrade costs must come from present reserves and economies of increased meal participation.

7. Allowable costs will be paid from the nonprofit school food service account to the FSMC net of all discounts, rebates, and other applicable credits accruing to or received by the FSMC or any assignee under the contract, to the extent those credits are allocable to the allowable portion of the costs billed to the SFA.

8. The FSMC must exclude all unallowable costs from its billing documents and certify that only allowable costs are submitted for payment and records have been established that maintain the visibility of unallowable costs, including directly associated costs in a manner suitable for contract cost determination and verification.

9. The FSMC’s determination of its allowable costs must be made in compliance with the applicable USDA Departmental and Program regulations and Office of Management and

Budget (OMB) cost circulars.

10. The FSMC must identify the amount of each discount, rebate, and other applicable credit on its invoices presented to the SFA for payment and individually identify the amount as a discount, rebate or in the case of other applicable credits, the nature of the credit, on no less than an accounting period basis.

11. The FSMC must maintain documentation of costs and discounts, rebates and other applicable credits, and must furnish such documentation upon request to the SFA, RIDE or USDA.

12. The FSMC must identify the method by which it will report discounts, rebates and other applicable credits, allocable to the SFA, as they become known during the term of the contract and for those that are not reported prior to the conclusion of the agreement and receive approval from the SFA prior to issuing its first invoice of the agreement period.

Required Commodity Provisions

All USDA donated foods received for use by the recipient agency for the school year covered by the contract shall be used in the recipient agency’s food service.

The FSMC will provide the following services in relation to commodity foods:

a. Preparing and serving meals.

b. Ordering or selection of donated foods, including processed end products, in coordination with the recipient agency in accordance with 7 CFR 250.58(a).

c. Storage and inventory management of donated foods in accordance with 7 CFR

250.52.

d. Payment of processing fees and/or submittal of refund requests to a processor on behalf of the recipient agency, or remittance of refunds for the value of donated foods in processed end products to the recipient agency, in accordance with subpart C of 7 CFR

250.

With respect to all the activities that the FSMC will be responsible for relating to donated foods, the FSMC shall ensure that such activities will be performed in accordance with the applicable requirements in 7 CFR 250.

Crediting For and Use of Donated Foods

1. The FSMC must credit the recipient agency for the value of all donated foods received for use in the recipient agency’s meals service in a school year (including both entitlement and bonus foods).

a. Including the value of donated foods contained in processed end products if the

FSMC’s contract requires it to procure processed end products on behalf of the recipient agency; or act as an intermediary in passing the donated food value in processed end products on to the recipient agency.

2. The FSMC will credit for donated foods by disclosure, i.e., the FSMC credits the recipient agency for the value of donated foods by disclosing, in its billing for food costs submitted to the recipient agency, the savings resulting from the receipt of donated foods for the billing period. Crediting by disclosure does not affect the requirement that the food service management company shall bill the recipient agency only for net allowable costs.

a. The FSMC shall use the USDA’s November 15th list of commodity food values to report the value of donated foods in its disclosure of the value of donated foods to the recipient agency on its billing documents.

3. All donated foods (including but is not limited to ground beef, ground pork, and all processed end products) shall be used in the recipient agency’s food service.

4. Storage and inventory management of donated foods.

a. The FSMC must meet the general requirements in 7 CFR 250.14(b) for the storage and inventory management of donated foods. Additionally, the FSMC must ensure that its system of inventory management does not result in the recipient agency being charged for donated foods.

b. If the contract terminates, and is not extended or renewed, the FSMC must return all unused donated foods, including but not limited to ground beef, ground pork, and processed end products, to the recipient agency.

c. The recipient agency must ensure that the FSMC has credited it for the value of all donated foods received for use in the recipient agency’s meal service in the school year. The FSMC shall cooperate in this endeavor.

Supplemental Contract Provisions

1. A statement that the FSMC must credit the recipient agency for the value of all donated foods received for use in the recipient agency’s meal service in the school year, and including the value of donated foods contained in processed end products, in accordance with the contingencies in 7 CFR 250.51(a).

2. The method used to credit the recipient agency for donated foods shall be crediting by disclosure, which will occur on billing documents submitted each month.

3. The FSMC shall use the USDA’s November 15th list of commodity food values to report the value of donated foods in its disclosure of the value of donated foods to the recipient agency on its billing documents.

4. The FSMC will ensure compliance with the requirements of subpart C of 7 CFR part 250 and with the provisions of the distributing and or recipient agencies’ processing agreements in the procurement of processed end products on behalf of the recipient agency and will ensure crediting of the recipient agency for the value of donated foods contained in such end products at the processing agreement value.

5. The FSMC should ensure the recipient agency that the FSMC will not itself enter into the processing agreement with the processor required in subpart C of 7 CFR 250.

6. The distributing agency, sub-distributing agency, or recipient agency, the Comptroller

General, the Department of Agriculture, or their duly authorized representatives, may perform onsite reviews of the FSMC’s food service operation, including the review of records, to ensure compliance with requirements for the management and use of donated foods.

7. The FSMC shall maintain records to document its compliance with 7 CFR 250.54(b).

8. Vendor certifies by submission of its proposal materials that it will fully comply with all applicable federal and State laws as a food service company, including “assurance that is and will be in compliance with all laws relative to recycling and composting pursuant to

Chapter 18.9 of Title 23” as mandated under R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-111-3 and “shall donate any unserved nonperishable or unspoiled perishable food to local food banks or the Rhode Island Food Bank” as mandated under R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-111-5.

Extensions or renewals of the contract as delineated above are contingent upon fulfillment of all contract provisions relating to donated foods.

Recordkeeping and Reviews

1. The FSMC must maintain the following records relating to the use of donated foods in its contract with the recipient agency:

a. The donated foods and processed end products received from, or on behalf of, the recipient agency, for use in the recipient agency’s food service;

b. Documentation that it has credited the recipient agency for the value of all donated foods received for use in the recipient agency’s food service in the school year, including, in accordance with the requirements in 7 CFR 250.51(a), the value of donated foods contained in processed end products; and

c. Documentation of its procurement of processed end products on behalf of the recipient agency, as applicable.

2. The recipient agency must ensure that the FSMC is in compliance with the requirements of this part through its monitoring of the food service operation, as required in 7 CFR parts

210, 225, or 226, as applicable.

3. The recipient agency must also conduct a reconciliation at least annually (and upon termination of the contract) to ensure that the food service management company has credited it for the value of all donated foods received for use in the recipient agency’s food service in the school year, including, in accordance with the requirements in 7 CFR

250.51(a), the value of donated foods contained in processed end products.

SECTION C: PROPOSAL

1. Technical Proposal

Narrative and format: Vendors must submit a technical proposal which addresses and/or includes each of the following elements as delineated below.

The Proposal sections should be aligned to the following listing:

❑ Letter of Transmittal

❑ Executive Summary

❑ Contractor Understanding of the Issues

❑ Work Plan

❑ Plan to Procure Locally Sourced Items

❑ Capacity of the Vendor to Administer a Statewide School Food Service

❑ Program

❑ Quality of Key Personnel

❑ Evaluation

A. Letter of Transmittal

The Letter of Transmittal should include:

a. An introduction to the FSMC.

b. The name, address and telephone number of the person to be contacted, along with others who are authorized to represent the company in dealing with the RFP.

c. An expression of the FSMC's ability and desire to meet or exceed the requirements of the RFP, and a positive assertion of the FSMC's intention to do so.

d. Any other information not appropriately contained in the proposal itself should also be included.

B. Executive Summary

The Executive Summary should:

a. Briefly describe the FSMC's approach to the proposal and clearly indicate any options or alternatives.

b. Indicate any major requirements that cannot be met by the FSMC.

c. Highlight the major features of the proposal and identify any supporting information considered pertinent.

C. Vendor Understanding of the Issues

The applicant should clearly summarize their knowledge in each of the areas listed below and/or demonstrate an understanding of the intent or goals of this solicitation and of the concepts outlined in the appendices.

a. Good Nutrition, Wellness Activities, Nutrition Education.

b. USDA Requirements including those found in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of

2010 (HHFKA), including meal pattern, nutrition standards, and competitive foods

(SMART Snacks) and Rhode Island Nutrition Requirements for School Meals and

Competitive Foods as set forth in 200-RICR-20-25-4.

c. USDA Wellness requirements (including those in the HHFKA) and RI Health and

Wellness Legislation.

d. School Meal Programs and increasing meal participation with special emphasis on increasing breakfast participation through alternative service delivery models and full utilization of the at-risk afterschool meals program and summer food service program.

e. USDA FFVP including nutrition education goals associated with this program.

f. USDA Foods Program including Department of Defense Fresh Fruits/Vegetables.

g. RI Farm and Sea to School Program including procurement of local foods, school gardens, and education related to agriculture, food, health and/or nutrition.

h. Procurement of locally grown, harvested, raised and/or processed (RI) fruits, vegetables, dairy and other local food items

i. RI’s child nutrition programs system and technology goals.

j. State goals regarding cost savings and efficient SFA operations including limits on fees and that all costs to the program must be net of all applicable discounts, rebates, allowances, incentives and credits per USDA regulations.

k. State goals for staff professional development including nutrition education/wellness promotion.

l. Regional school food service management and transportation of supplies.

m. Current knowledge of operating SFA school food service programs.

n. Environmentally sustainable kitchen/cafeteria operations and reduction of food waste.

o. Customer/client engagement and feedback.

D. Work Plan

The applicant shall provide a detailed work plan that addresses all the elements in the intent of the solicitation and the scope of the work. This includes carrying out both developmental and ongoing State and SFA level elements as follows:

a. Plan to assess SFAs’ needs related to the Program; a Plan that responds to the results of

SFAs need assessments, including opportunities for efficiencies.

b. Plan to communicate/report to RIDE on Program progress; to provide SFA with all fiscal and data oversight and reporting in accordance with state plan and SFA agreement.

c. Plan for staff development including nutrition/wellness education & promotion staff development, at a local and regional level that conform to USDA professional standards requirements.

d. State Plan for:

• Annual nutrition and service delivery goals for meals and competitive foods

• Compliance with USDA nutrition standards, RI Nutrition Requirements and additional standards as set forth in this solicitation

• Support implementation of USDA and state level Wellness requirements, nutrition education and promotion of wellness

• Procurement and distribution of USDA Foods and DoD Produce;

• Participation in the RI Farm and Sea to School Program with activities to include procurement, school gardens, and education related to agriculture, food, health or nutrition.

• Annual specific reporting timelines for all statewide activities/tasks;

• Goals and guidelines for parent, student, family and school staff involvement in

Program

• Incorporating existing resources developed by community partners that improve student nutrition education and food literacy such as Harvest of the Month, Students Take Charge, engagement with Wellness Committees;

• Annual improvements to the regional infrastructure via regional upgrades of equipment, facilities upgrade that account for the varying types of food service facilities in different SFAs

• Review of SFA agreement to ensure compliance with requirements.

• Maintaining compliance with RI school food waste regulations.

• Execution of individual SFA agreements.

• Staffing

• Meal Price schedules

• Development of an environmentally sustainable program that reduces packaging and food waste

e. Plan to annually expand and/or update as needed the technology (POS) throughout all participating SFAs and implement a direct upload process from POS to RIDE’s online claim for reimbursement system (by-passing 3rd party systems).

f. Plan to ensure adequate oversight by food service director, general manager, and/or district manager for each participating SFA in accordance with SFA agreement and

Additional Vendor Requirements /Qualification as described above in this RFP.

E. Plan to Procure Locally and Regionally Sourced Items

For the purposes of this solicitation local purchases will be divided into two categories and shall be defined as follows:

▪ Local: Unprocessed or minimally processed agricultural, aquaculture, or seafood products that have been grown/harvested/raised in RI and/or foods processed in RI.

▪ Regional: Unprocessed or minimally processed agricultural, aquaculture, or seafood products that have been grown/harvested/raised in CT, MA, NH, ME, or VT (excluding fluid milk) and/or foods processed in CT, MA, NH, ME, or VT.

For the purposes of this solicitation, “unprocessed products” means only those agricultural, aquaculture, or seafood products that retain their inherent character. The effects of the following handling and preservation techniques shall not be considered as changing an agricultural, aquaculture, or seafood product into a product of a different inherent character and therefore products having gone through these processes would still be considered to be

“unprocessed agricultural products”: cooling, refrigerating, freezing; size adjustment through size reduction made by peeling, slicing, dicing, cutting, chopping, shucking, and grinding;

drying/dehydration; washing; the application of high water pressure or “cold pasteurization”;

packaging (such as placing eggs in cartons) and vacuum packing and bagging (such as placing vegetables in bags); butchering livestock, fish and poultry; and the pasteurization of milk.

“Processed” foods include those that have gone through heating, pasteurizing, blanching, cooking, canning, freezing, drying, dehydrating, mixing or packaging.

Applicant should propose planned menus for all programs and meal types to be offered, which highlight the food items that meet the above definitions. A summary should be provided for each meal type and the overall program that identifies anticipated local and/or regional purchases made based on the above definitions, separated by the following purchase categories: fruits, vegetables, fluid milk, dairy (excluding fluid milk), meat/poultry, eggs, seafood, and grain products. The summary should be presented as an expression of the percentage of total dollars that will be spent on local/regional agricultural products in each category as compared to total food cost dollars for each category, the overall menu, and the overall program.

Applicant must identify existing farmer and other local/regional relationships that will be used as well as tracking and reporting mechanisms that will be implemented as it relates to procuring locally sourced items.

Preference will be given to vendors that are able to demonstrate the highest percentage of locally sourced items on proposed menus according to the following criteria:

Points Awards Total Percentage of Food

Cost Dollars Spent on

Items Meeting the Local

Definition

OR Total Percentage of Food Cost

Dollars Spent on Items Meeting

Local and/or Regional Definition

10/10 ≥ 30% OR ≥ 50%

7/10 25 - < 30 % OR 45 - < 50%

4/10 20 - < 25% OR 40 - < 45%

0/10 < 20% OR < 40%

These scoring criteria have been designed to align with the Relish Rhody Rhode Island Food

Strategy, which supports the regional goal of 50% of the food eaten in New England to be sourced…