RFP 2023 - Primary Distributor Service with Food & Nutrition

The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) in Wisconsin is seeking a primary food distributor through Request for Proposal (RFP) 4095 to support its Food & Nutrition Department. The solicitation targets a distributor capable of providing frozen, refrigerated, dry foods, and non-food items for federal child nutrition programs serving approximately 27,000 students across 49 school buildings. Specifically, the distributor must provide a minimum of three weekly deliveries to the Food Production Center and weekly deliveries to four high schools, with order submissions via an online system compatible with PrimeroEdge inventory management software. The evaluation criteria will weight pricing proposals at 40 percent, with additional points allocated for organizational ability (25 points), qualifications and experience (15 points), references (15 points), and diverse-owned business certification (5 points). Key requirements include maintaining a 95 percent weekly fill rate and providing a full-service online ordering system at no cost. The proposal deadline is March 17, 2023, at 2:00 PM CST, with a distributor conference scheduled for February 24, 2023. Evaluation interviews and site visits are planned for March 22-24, 2023, with board approval targeted for April 17, 2023.

The district offers a 5 percent preference for certified diverse or minority-owned businesses, encouraging participation from such enterprises. The contract term runs from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2026, with an option to renew for two additional one-year periods by mutual agreement. Historically, the district has spent an average of $2,677,391.90 annually on food and food service supplies, which provides an indication of potential contract value. The selected distributor will be responsible for picking up commodity allocations from the state warehouse and managing direct diversion processing, with all non-domestic products requiring prior written approval. Additional contract requirements include providing monthly price lists, manufacturer rebate tracking reports, and local sourcing documentation within a 200-mile radius of the district or within Wisconsin. The district will process payments within 30 business days, and note that certain food items such as bread, produce, ice cream, milk, and water are excluded from this solicitation and will be procured through separate contracts.