Request for Bid for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program

The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) Purchasing Services is seeking fresh, local produce for its USDA Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program, targeting elementary students with weekly snack provisions. The procurement requires approximately 4,200 servings to be delivered weekly on Thursdays during the school term, with all products sourced within 150 miles of Madison and within Wisconsin. Specific produce items include sweet potatoes, kohlrabi, carrots, spinach, radishes, cabbage, beets, spring mix lettuce, sweet peppers, snap peas, and tomatoes, with vendors required to provide both conventional and organic pricing per pound. The bid evaluation will be comprehensive, scoring vendors on cost (40%), geographic preference (15%), sample distance documentation (10%), traceability documentation (15%), diverse-owned business status (5%), and references (15%). The initial contract term runs from September 9, 2019, through November 30, 2019, with potential two additional three-month renewal periods, and the bid was due on July 12, 2019, at 2:00 PM CST, requiring one original and three additional document copies.

The procurement offers specific advantages for diverse-owned businesses certified by the Wisconsin Supplier Diversity Program or participating in the Wisconsin Diversity Procurement Network, which are eligible for a 5% preference. Organic produce bidders receive an additional $0.20 per pound price reduction during scoring. Vendors must meet stringent requirements, including providing product origin documentation, traceability evidence, and maintaining minimum $1,000,000 liability insurance coverage. The contract award is contingent upon federal grant funding approval expected in July or August 2019, with MMSD reserving the right to award the bid partially or fully. Vendors must comply with affirmative action requirements, debarment certifications, and equal employment opportunity policies. While no specific budget range is explicitly stated, the procurement involves weekly produce deliveries for approximately 4,200 student servings, suggesting a potentially substantial contract value depending on pricing and contract duration.