RFP 2026-014 Emergency Food Services

The Town of Palm Beach, Florida is soliciting proposals through RFP 2026-014 for qualified catering firms to provide emergency food services following hurricanes or other disasters. The procurement seeks vendors capable of delivering breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals for approximately 250 employees per day working multiple shifts for several days to one to two weeks post-disaster, with meals staged at the Mandel Recreation Complex and Public Works Building and prepared off-site for ready service. Selected vendors must provide up to 40 box meals for remote delivery, desserts with lunch and dinner service, beverages, and all necessary food and paper products, including cleanup of serving areas; additionally, the Town may utilize awarded proposers for municipal social events. Proposers must hold current food and beverage licenses from the Florida Department of Health and demonstrate experience with large-scale government catering operations through submission of at least three to five project references completed within the past three years. The evaluation criteria emphasize Experience and Ability of Personnel/Past Performance (30%), Technical Approach including menu creativity and mobilization response time (30%), Workload and Scheduling capacity (10%), and Price (30%). Proposals must be submitted online through the Bonfire eProcurement platform by March 18, 2026, with a non-mandatory but strongly encouraged pre-proposal meeting held virtually via Microsoft Teams; proposers are bound to their submissions for 180 days from the opening date and may not withdraw proposals during this period.

This procurement incorporates FEMA terms and conditions as the Town will seek reimbursement from FEMA for emergency response costs, requiring all proposers to comply with federal compliance certifications including debarment certification, Byrd Anti-Lobbying Amendment certification (for awards exceeding $100,000), drug-free workplace certification, and E-Verify employment eligibility verification requirements. Proposers must provide proof of comprehensive general liability insurance with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, business auto liability coverage with $1,000,000 combined single limits, workers' compensation at statutory Florida limits, and employers' liability coverage with minimum limits of $100,000 per accident. Additional mandatory compliance certifications include attestation of non-debarment status, foreign entity and human trafficking law compliance, conflict of interest disclosures, scrutinized companies certification, and drug-free workplace policy implementation. The contract award shall be made to the proposer offering best value to the Town, which reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, award to one or more vendors, and allow other municipalities to utilize the contract under the same pricing terms if the contractor agrees. The initial contract term is one year with four one-year renewal options for a potential total of five years; no specific budget or award value range is disclosed in the solicitation documents.