Swayne Field Food Hub Pilot Project

The City of Toledo is requesting proposals for professional services to plan, launch, operate, and evaluate a pilot pop-up produce market at the Swayne Field redevelopment site, with proposals due August 4, 2026 at 1:30 PM EST via PlanetBids and bid opening at 2:00 PM EST the same day via Zoom.

The City has allocated approximately $150,000 for this pilot initiative, subject to final authorization and contract negotiation. The pilot market is anticipated to operate for approximately ten weeks during the Summer/Fall 2026 season, preferably on weekends, with a contract term through December 31, 2026.

The selected vendor must deliver a turn-key operating model encompassing market setup and teardown, staffing, food sourcing, food safety compliance, payment processing, outreach coordination, and post-pilot evaluation. Required services include weekly on-site setup and teardown, commercial equipment and displays, product sourcing and cold-chain management, on-site staffing, point-of-sale systems, daily sanitation and reporting, and final pilot evaluation. Preferred services include SNAP/EBT acceptance, produce incentive programming, nutrition education, local vendor partnerships, and customer outreach strategies.

Evaluation criteria are background and experience, location, familiarity with applicable standards, current workload, previous project performance, project understanding, schedule and staffing, fees, disadvantaged business enterprise participation, and other distinguishing firm attributes.

All proposals must comply with City of Toledo procurement policies, including Living Wage Contract Addendum requirements. Contractors on contracts exceeding $10,000 annually must pay employees a living wage of $17.45 per hour with health coverage, or $20.63 per hour without health coverage, subject to exemptions for employers with fewer than 25 employees, nonprofits, seasonal workers, and other specified categories. Vendors must submit comprehensive documentation including vendor registration, tax registration, notarized child support affidavits, EEO compliance, debarment certification, updated living wage affidavits, W-9, and Certificate of Insurance naming the City as additional insured. Professional services contracts exceeding $100,000 require Commercial General Liability ($2 million aggregate/$1 million per occurrence), Automobile Liability ($1 million per occurrence), Professional Liability ($1 million per occurrence), and Umbrella Liability ($5 million). All work product is the exclusive property of Toledo.