REQUEST FOR BID For Petite Bananas (Singles)

The Madison Metropolitan School District's Food & Nutrition department has issued a Request for Bid (RFB 4049) for petite bananas (singles) for the 2019-2020 school year. The procurement seeks 150-count cases (40-pound cases) of petite bananas with specific requirements, including fruit length between 5 to 5.5 inches and ripeness stages of 3.5 to 4.5 on the Chiquita banana color guide. The District anticipates ordering 55 to 65 cases per week, with deliveries to be made to the Food Production Center at 4711 Pflaum Road, Madison, Wisconsin, Monday through Friday between 5:00 AM and 7:00 AM. Bid submissions are due on May 3, 2019, at 2:00 PM (CST), requiring one original and three copies. The evaluation criteria include cost (35%), service requirements and specifications (20%), organizational qualifications and experience (20%), diverse-owned business certification (5%), past performance with MMSD (10%), and references (10%). Successful vendors must maintain a HACCP plan, guarantee a 98% minimum fill rate, and ensure bananas arrive with internal temperatures of 55F or above.

The contract opportunity does not specify explicit set-aside designations but does emphasize diverse-owned business certification as part of the evaluation process. Contractors must comply with Wisconsin-based affirmative action requirements and provide worker's compensation and commercial liability insurance with minimum one-million-dollar coverage. The District is exempt from Federal Excise Tax and State Sales Tax (Tax ID: ES42341). The contract will commence on August 19, 2019, and conclude on June 30, 2020, with an estimated annual contract value of $51,000. Both distributors and manufacturers must meet strict quality standards, including providing first-class quality produce in ready-to-eat condition, with provisions for no-cost replacements for defective items. Vendors must maintain all required documentation throughout the contract term and be prepared to replace rejected products at no charge with comparable substitutes at the same per-serving price.