Farm Food Products

The Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) is conducting an Invitation to Bid (ITB-24-066) for Farm Food Products, seeking vendors to provide fertilizer, seeds, chemicals, and packaging for delivery to various correctional institutions throughout the state. The procurement covers 112 line items across six product groups: seeds, adjuvents, fungicides, insecticides/biologicals, herbicides, and fertilizers. Vendors must bid on all items within a selected group to be considered responsive, with delivery required within 30 days of purchase order issuance to facilities in Sneads, Raiford, Avon Park, and Arcadia, Florida. Key procurement dates include a vendor question submission deadline of November 20, 2024, department responses by December 17, 2024, and a bid submission deadline of January 7, 2025, at 2:00 PM Eastern Time. The evaluation criteria focus on selecting the responsible vendor submitting the lowest responsive bid for each product group, with the Department reserving the right to add or delete products and service locations during the contract term. The resulting contract will be valid for up to three years with potential renewal options.

The solicitation includes a 5% price preference for Florida-based vendors when competing against out-of-state vendors whose home states do not offer similar preferences. Vendors must maintain a drug-free workplace and comply with requirements related to scrutinized companies and convicted/discriminatory vendor restrictions. While no specific disadvantaged enterprise set-asides are explicitly mentioned, the procurement includes standard provisions for responsible and responsive bidding. Pricing must be firm and inclusive of all packaging, handling, shipping, and applicable fees, with no minimum order requirements except for standard packaging units. The Department will award contracts that meet all specifications, with potential total contract values determined by the estimated annual quantities outlined in Attachment I - Price Sheet (pages 28-36 of the original ITB document). Vendors must be prepared to provide comprehensive product offerings across the specified groups, with the flexibility to potentially serve multiple correctional facilities throughout Florida.