MEATS

The South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) issued Solicitation 5400025786 for a comprehensive meat procurement contract to supply the SCDC Food Service Main Warehouse. The solicitation requests bids for four specific line items: 60,000 pounds of bologna (chicken or turkey), 200,000 pounds of beef patties, 100,000 pounds of franks (turkey or chicken), and 4,320 cases of chunk tuna. All products must conform to pre-approved brand specifications, with alternate brands rendering the bid non-responsive. The key deliverables include palletized and shrink-wrapped meat products to be delivered to the SCDC Food Service Warehouse at 4422 Broad River Road, Columbia, South Carolina. Bidders must be registered as South Carolina vendors and submit sealed offers by September 5, 2023, at 1:00 PM, with a bid opening scheduled for the same date and time. The evaluation criteria focus on the lowest responsible and responsive bidder, with award notification planned for September 11, 2023. The contract term runs from the notice of award through June 30, 2024, with multiple estimated delivery dates spanning September 2023 through June 2024.

Vendors may claim South Carolina resident vendor preference, South Carolina end-product preference, or United States end-product preference on a per-line-item basis if meeting statutory requirements. No specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises were explicitly mentioned in the solicitation documents. The contract was ultimately awarded to three separate vendors: Robbins Sales Company, Inc. of Woodbury, NY (awarded Lines 1 and 4 for $241,761.60, supplying Jennie-O brand bologna and Port Royal Premium brand tuna), Clarks Trading Company of Wales, WI (awarded Line 2 for $490,000.00, supplying Circle A brand beef patties), and Good Source Solutions of Carlsbad, CA (awarded Line 3 for $163,000.00, supplying Good Source brand turkey or chicken franks). The total contract value is $894,761.60. Vendors failing to meet delivery deadlines will be considered in default, with a ten-day cure period, and potentially subject to the SCDC purchasing replacement items on the open market and invoicing the vendor for price differentials.