Charter School Institute Vended Meals - HPA

The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) School Nutrition Unit, on behalf of the Colorado Charter School Institute (CCSI) Sponsor, is issuing a Request for Proposal for vended meal services at High Point Academy, a Pre-K through 8th grade school in Aurora, Colorado with 720 enrolled students. This procurement seeks fixed fee per-meal contracts to provide breakfast, lunch, after-school snacks, and a la carte food service under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), After School Care Snack Program (ACSP), and potentially the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). The vendor must deliver approximately 425 daily lunch participants and 450 daily breakfast participants with meal service Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for breakfast and 10:15 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for lunch, and the school requires peanut-free operations with vegetarian, no-pork, and vegan meal options. The vendor is responsible for all meal delivery, serving, point-of-sale system operation, and facility cleaning as included in the fixed fee, with preliminary cost estimates of $1.78 per breakfast and $2.42 per lunch. A mandatory pre-proposal meeting is scheduled for March 24, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. via Zoom, with proposals due by email to IleneAgustin@csi.state.co.us by 9:00 a.m. on April 27, 2026. The contract term is one year effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, with options to renew for up to four additional one-year periods by mutual agreement. Evaluation will be conducted using a 100-point weighted scoring system prioritizing cost (16 points), service capability plan (15 points), menu and food quality (15 points), accounting and reporting systems (15 points), experience with similar sponsors (10 points), financial condition and stability (10 points), flexibility in ordering (10 points), and waste management (9 points).

All vendors must be incorporated or licensed to do business in Colorado and registered with the CDE Office of School Nutrition, and must provide annual financial statements certified by a licensed public accountant, maintain comprehensive general liability insurance with a $1,000,000 combined single limit, demonstrate HACCP training and food safety compliance, and comply with Buy American provisions for domestic food products. Contracts exceeding $350,000 require bonding guarantees of 5 to 10 percent of the bid price and performance bonds of 10 to 25 percent of the contract value. The RFP documentation does not identify any set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises, incumbent vendors, or current contractors, nor does it reference existing infrastructure or technology requiring integration. No specific award value or budget range is listed in the procurement documents; however, based on the daily participation rates and estimated per-meal costs provided, the annual contract value is anticipated to exceed $350,000, which would trigger bonding requirements.