Assessment Report on Food for Peace Program

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service is seeking a comprehensive assessment report on the implications of relocating the Food for Peace program from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to USDA. The contractor will conduct detailed research and prepare a report analyzing USDA's capacity to successfully assume operation of the program, including assessments of space requirements, IT infrastructure needs, staffing levels and expertise, and operational efficiency comparisons to the program's fiscal year 2024 operations under USAID. Key contract requirements include stakeholder engagement with federal agencies, private voluntary organizations, international organizations, foreign governments, universities, maritime and logistics providers, and agricultural producers, as well as delivery of a draft report, final report, public version, and in-person presentation in Washington, DC. The procurement is structured as a firm-fixed price performance-based service contract under NAICS code 541611 (Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services), with the contractor responsible for all response costs and no government payment provided for this Request for Information. Responses to the RFI are due by 2:00 p.m. EST on Friday, February 13, 2026, with the deadline for submitting questions or clarifications also falling on February 13, 2026.

This procurement uses no set-aside designations and has no identified incumbent contractors. The contract timeline extends from the RFI period through September 30, 2026, with specific milestones including a draft report due June 12, 2026, USDA feedback by July 10, 2026, a final report due August 14, 2026, and a public version due August 28, 2026. The contractor must conduct an in-person presentation requiring three consecutive business days in Washington, DC, scheduled for August or September 2026, with performance primarily conducted at the contractor's site supplemented by virtual stakeholder interviews. Contractor employees require Public Trust (Moderate Risk/T2) background investigations before commencing work, and USDA will facilitate stakeholder contacts and provide logical access to relevant computer systems. The contract includes performance standards with late delivery penalties (1-2 percent per day for main reports, 0.5 percent for the public report) and material failure-to-meet-specifications penalties (5-20 percent depending on the deliverable), with biweekly progress reports required throughout the period of performance.