Food Handler Courses & Certifications

Tolleson Union High School District #214 in Arizona is issuing Request for Proposal 27-05-31 to procure food handler courses, certifications, and culinary arts curriculum materials to support its Culinary Arts and Foodservice Management departments. The vendor must provide comprehensive deliverables including access to the Foundations of Restaurant Management & Culinary Arts curriculum available in online, print, or hybrid formats; industry-validated Levels 1-4 certification pathways and food handler cards compliant with Arizona Department of Education guidelines; online assessment tools with analytics reporting capabilities; instructor resources and technical support; and student credentialing materials. All services must be delivered entirely online and administered by district-certified instructors, with the vendor required to allow certified district staff to proctor testing internally. The district will evaluate proposals based on qualifications and experience (25 points), technical proposal and scope alignment (25 points), cost (30 points), past performance via three reference surveys (10 points), and responsiveness and compliance (10 points). Proposals must include comprehensive, fully burdened pricing that clearly itemizes curriculum access, instructional materials, student certifications, assessment tools, instructor training, administrative and licensing fees, and all freight and delivery charges, with offerors permitted to propose per-student, per-course, per-certification, tiered, volume-based, or annual subscription pricing structures. Questions regarding the solicitation are due by February 19, 2026, with proposals required by February 26, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. MST through the Bonfire Procurement Portal. Evaluation is scheduled for March 2-6, 2026, with best and final offers potentially requested March 9-12, 2026, contract award anticipated April 7, 2026, and service delivery commencing July 1, 2026.

The district has not identified set-aside designations restricting proposal eligibility; however, the district actively encourages minority and women-owned business enterprises to participate through its MWBE Hub. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are listed. Responding vendors must maintain comprehensive general liability insurance with $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate coverage and must comply with federal funding requirements, Arizona employment laws, non-discrimination statutes, and ADA accessibility standards. The contract term runs July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, with options to renew for four additional one-year terms through June 30, 2031, contingent upon satisfactory performance and funding availability. No minimum purchase volume is guaranteed, and the district reserves the right to make no award, award to a single vendor, or award multiple contracts. Budget information is not specified in the solicitation; however, the district notes that sufficient funds are anticipated but not currently available and are contingent on board approval.