8910--NTX - Dairy | Base Plus 4 Option Years

This is a Sources Sought notice only. This is NOT for quotes and no contract will be awarded from this announcement. The Government will not provide any reimbursement for responses submitted in response to this Sources Sought notice. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. a solicitation for proposals, proposal, abstracts, or quotations.

The purpose of this announcement is to perform market research to gain knowledge of potential qualified sources and their size classification relative to NAICS 311511.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Network Contracting Office 17 (NCO 17) is seeking to identify any vendor capable of providing Dairy to North TX Veterans Health Care System/Dallas VA Medical Center in Dallas, Texas per the requirements below. Refer to the Statement of Work (SOW) below for the requested requirement description. The standard shall be of quality; meeting or exceeding those outlined in the Statement of Work.

This Sources Sought provides an opportunity for respondents to submit their capability and availability to provide the requirement described below. Vendors are being invited to submit information relative to their potential to fulfill this requirement, in the form of a capability response that addresses the specific requirement identified in this Sources Sought. Information received from this Sources Sought shall be utilized to facilitate the Contracting Officer s review of the market base, for acquisition planning, size determination, and procurement strategy.

Submission Instructions: Interested parties who consider themselves qualified to perform the services are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Notice by 10:00 AM CDT, October 2, 2024. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice must be emailed to maria.hofmann@va.gov. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions.

Interested parties may submit responses to this Sources Sought with information related to their capabilities. Responses to this Sources Sought shall not exceed 4 pages. In addition, all submissions should be provided electronically in a Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format.

SAM: Interested parties shall be register in the System for Award Management (SAM) as prescribed in FAR Clause 52.232-33. SAM information can be obtained by accessing the internet at www.sam.gov or by calling 1-866-606-8220. Interested parties not registered in SAM will be ineligible to receive a government contract, should a solicitation be issued resulting from this Sources Sought.

STATEMENT OF WORK

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND

VA North Texas Health Care System requires the delivery of dairy and juice supplies to the Nutrition and Food Service (N&FS) departments at North Texas Veterans Health Care System/

Dallas VA Medical Center and Sam Rayburn VA Medical Center.

SCOPE OF WORK

Summary of Work Requirements

Delivery Schedule: Deliveries shall be made to the Nutrition & Food Service walk-in cooler but must have someone from the kitchen receiving area to escort delivery person, unless otherwise directed by the participating facility s POC, including National Holidays.

Period of Performance

Base Period 11/09/2024 - 11/08/2025

Option Year 1 11/09/2025 - 11/08/2026

Option Year 2 11/09/2026 - 11/08/2027

Option Year 3 11/09/2027 - 11/08/2028

Option Year 4 11/09/2028 - 11/08/2029

Bonham, TX

Delivery Schedule: Tuesday and Friday

Delivery time: No later than 9:00 A.M., regardless the holidays

Department of Veterans Affairs

Sam Rayburn Memorial Veterans Center

1201 E. 9th St.

NFS, Main Kitchen area

Bonham, TX 75418

(Dock is on the West end of building 2)

North Texas Veterans Health Care System/Dallas, TX

Delivery Schedule: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday

Delivery time: No later than 9:00 A.M., regardless the holidays

Department of Veteran Affairs

North Texas Veterans Health Care System

Dallas VA Medical Center

4500 S. Lancaster

Dallas, TX 75216

DELIVERED GOODS

The Government reserves the right to inspect delivered goods for compliance of specifications, including but not limited to, correct products, quantities, proper packing, damaged goods, etc. Any items determined unacceptable will be refused with full credit/replacement due at the discretion of the Government.

Replacement of rejected products shall be delivered the same day no later than 3:00

P. M., unless otherwise specified by the POC.

The Contractor shall be responsible for delivery to the appropriate locations specified by the delivery schedule or POC. The Contractor shall provide the necessary means to accomplish such delivery (e.g.: hand truck, dolly, cart, etc.) The Government assumes no obligation to provide and/or make available to the Contractor, any such means required for such delivery, nor shall the Government be required to accept shipment should the Contractor be unable to make delivery as required.

FRESHNESS REQUIREMENT FOR DAIRY PRODUCTS

Fluid dairy products and other dairy products shall have sufficient remaining shelf life commensurate with good commercial practices and at a minimum:

Milk must be delivered within a reasonable industry standard time after

pasteurization and have a minimum 10 days of shelf life after date of delivery.

Buttermilk must be delivered with a minimum of 12 days shelf life after date of

delivery.

Cottage cheese, cultured, normal shelf life must be delivered within 4 days after

date of packaging. Cottage cheese cultured or acidified, extended shelf life, must be delivered within 7 days after date of packaging.

REFRIGERATION, FROZEN PRODUCTS, AND DRY STORAGE REQUIREMENTS

Items requiring "protection from heat" shall be transported and stored at

temperature below 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Carrier equipment for straight loads of "Chilled" products will be required to be

pre-cooled to a minimum temperature of 35 degrees Fahrenheit and a maximum temperature of 41 degrees Fahrenheit and shall be capable of maintaining temperature within that range to destination.

Carrier equipment for straight load of "Frozen" products will be pre-cooled to 10

degrees Fahrenheit, or lower before loading, and capable of maintaining O degrees Fahrenheit or lower to destination. Product should be loaded in carrier's equipment as promptly as possible to minimize product temperature rise. At destination, the product shall be hard frozen and show no signs of defrosting. Temperature of the product shall not be above O degrees Fahrenheit. Frozen products will be wrapped in polyurethane wrapping.

Carrier equipment for straight load of "Frozen and Chilled" products will be

required to be pre-cooled to a minimum temperature of 35 degrees Fahrenheit and a maximum temperature of 41 degrees Fahrenheit and shall be capable of maintaining temperatures within that range to destination. The frozen products in the load shall be completely segregated by installing effective barrier(s) at the time of loading in order to prevent product damage.

US PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE (USPHS) RATING

All milk/milk products shall be Grade A quality. Contractor shall have obtained USPHS pasteurized milk rating of 90% or higher within the last two-year period and shall retain such status throughout the term of the contract. A copy of the current USPHS rating shall be provided to the Contracting Officer upon request. Failure to maintain USPHS rating of 90% or higher is grounds for immediate contract termination.

Contractor shall provide the following rating data:

Pasteurized Milk Rating: 97%

Date of Rating: 11-6-18

Statement Sanitation Rating Agency and Address:

Type of Products: MILK AND Dairy

ORDERS

All orders will be placed on an as needed basis for delivery two days a week (no exceptions). Specific quantities and delivery dates will be determined in accordance with the delivery schedule by the POC. Contractor will not substitute any items and will not increase or decrease quantities ordered without prior approval from the POC. Order numbers will be provided by the facility at the time the order is placed. Order can be placed by telephone, in writing or fax, or given to the Contractor personnel as mutually agreed upon between the POC and the Contractor.

PACKAGING, PACKING AND LABELING

Preservation, packaging and packing shall be to a degree of protection to preclude damage to containers and/or contents under normal shipping conditions, handling, etc. and shall conform to normal commercial practices and applicable carrier rules and regulations involving shipment from the Contractor to the receiving activity for storage. Shipping containers shall be in compliance with National Motor Freight classification and Uniform Freight classification in effect at the time of shipment.

All packaging and packing shall be in accordance with good commercial practice. Labeling shall be in accordance with commercial labeling, complying with Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and regulation promulgated there under.

All items must be identified with readable dates (open code dates) or coded dates. Contractors who do not use open dating will provide a product code number key listing. The product code number key listing shall explain the actual date of production or processing. Copies of key-code listings will be furnished to each destination receiving officer and each destination inspection agency with the first delivery.

PRODUCT AVAILABILITY

Should any product under this contract become unavailable or available on a limited basis, either temporarily or permanently, the Contractor shall provide the Government with sufficient notification thereof, offering possible substitutions and/or alternative sources, to afford the Government adequate opportunity to approve or reject offered substitution and/or make other procurement arrangements.

PROCUREMENT FROM ANOTHER SOURCE

The Contracting Officer shall make every effort to ensure that offered substitutions are given fair and reasonable consideration and that procurement from an alternate source is made only if necessary. If procurement from an alternate source is required due to the Contractor's fault, the Contractor is responsible for any price difference and any other additional charges.

CONTRACTOR LICENSE, PERMITS AND FACILITIES

The Contractor shall obtain all necessary licenses and/or permits required to perform under this contract. The Government may, prior to contract award or at any time during the term of the contract, inspect the Contractor's plan, personnel, equipment, processes, and protective containers to determine compliance with State and Federal sanitary requirements.

Contractor shall provide here under the name and address of the plant(s) to be utilized for performance of this Contractor.

In the even another Federal Agency has inspected the plant listed; within the past year, indicate the agency's name, address, and phone.

LABORATORY REPORTS

Upon request the Contractor shall provide the Contracting Officer with copies of laboratory reports prepared by an official of a Federal, State, or County laboratory and shall include chemical and bacteriological examination results and certification that adequate public health controls are in effect at the plant are being observed. The Coliform Count and Plant Count on applicable items shall not exceed the maximum allowed by the County and/or State Health Department in more than one

(1) sample in each series of four (4), each sample to be taken on separate days.

QUALITY MANAGEMENT

The Government further reserves the right to enter and inspect any vehicle used to deliver goods for, but not limited to, compliance of sanitation conditions, proper refrigeration, proper cargo area temperature, etc. Such inspection shall be made on a random basis, upon delivery.

PERSONNEL POLICY

The parties agree that the contract personnel working under this contract shall not be considered VA employees and shall be considered employees of the Contractor. The Contractor shall be responsible for providing worker's compensation, professional liability insurance; health examination, income tax withholding, and social security payments.

Summary of Work

Provide completed written service report of the work. Information shown in the report shall include the following:

1. Company s name, address, telephone & FAX numbers.

2. Name and signature of contractors who perform the maintenance and testing.

3. Date and Time of work.

4. Location, Type of service

5. Descriptions of work performed.

Contractor Employees

Health: Health Requirements: Contractor s employees are not required to have a physical examination prior to work on this contract, however, each employee is expected to be in good physical health and able to work in patient use/visit areas without risk to the patients. No personnel shall be assigned to this contract that are not in good physical health or pose a risk to patients. Contractor s personnel who acquire a communicable illness will be replaced by the contractor.

All contractors shall clearly display their hospital badge. All personnel shall obtain a VANTHCS issued ID badge prior to starting work. The badge will be displayed on the upper torso, picture side out at all times. Failure to obtain or wear a badge is grounds for removal from site until the situation is resolved, i.e. No badge, no work.

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Required products include

Milk, Whole, 1.2 Pint

Milk, Low Fat 1%, ½ Pint

Milk, Whole, Plain with Added Vitamin A, Gallon

Cheese, Cottage, Low Fat, Small Curd, 5 lb. Container

Milk, Chocolate, Whole, ½ Pint

Milk, Low Fat 2%, ½ Pint

Milk, Low Fat, 2% Gallon

Milk, Chocolate Low Fat 1%, ½ Pint

INVOICING

All invoices shall follow instructions defined in C.1., 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, paragraph (g). Failure to do so could result in a delay of payment. All payments made under this contract will be made monthly in arrears. No advance payments will be authorized.

FEDERAL HOLIDAYS

New Year s Day January 1

Martin Luther King Day Third Monday in January

Presidents Day Third Monday in February

Memorial Day Last Monday in May

Juneteenth Freedom Day June 19

Independence July 4

Labor Day First Monday in September

Columbus Day Second Monday in October

Veterans Day November 11

Thanksgiving Day Fourth Thursday in November

Christmas Day December 25

SECURITY

Contractor personnel will have NO access to VA sensitive information in their work/service area. The C&A requirements do not apply, and a Security Accreditation Package is not required.

POINTS OF CONTACT

North Texas Veterans Health Care System (NTXVHCS) Contracting Officers Representative (COR)

COR Alternate COR

Karen Smith Levi Sweat

Nutrition and Food Services Nutrition and Food Services

karen.smith10@va.gov levi.sweat@va.gov

214-857-0093 214-857-2466