WIC/Seniors FMNP E-Solution RFP

The Illinois Department of Human Services is requesting proposals for an electronic solution to manage issuance, redemption, and payment disbursements for the Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) and WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), with proposals due July 14, 2026 through BidBuy. This is a new initiative with no incumbent vendor, replacing traditional banking methods due to declining bank support for paper checks.

The e-solution must serve 24,000 SFMNP participants and 5,000 WIC FMNP participants across 341 farmers and 2 farmer market managers currently contracted, with geographic coverage spanning 37 participating counties statewide. The platform must provide farmer and participant mobile applications and/or physical magnetic swipe cards with PIN or QR code options. Benefits must be available no later than July 10, 2027, with expiration on October 31, 2027. The e-solution must be provided at no cost to farmers and participants and cannot contain advertisements.

Implementation must be completed by December 2026. The resulting contract has an initial term of six years with two optional two-year renewal periods, for a maximum total contract term of ten years. Pricing is estimated and must be submitted via BidBuy or as a separate attachment with vendor unit costs across setup, project management, quality assurance, testing, training, technical assistance, implementation, ACH transaction processing, helpdesk services, monthly reporting, card production and shipping, and banking fees.

Technical requirements include data reporting capabilities distinguishing federal and state funding sources, role-based access controls, real-time tracking, and security compliance (SOC 2 Type 2 or ISO 27001 certification). Vendors must maintain an acceptable security audit report throughout contract duration and comply with State of Illinois Standard Security Requirements, including SSAE-18 SOC 2 Type 2 submissions, FIPS 140 encryption with AES-256 standards, comprehensive logging per Appendix S1, and WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility compliance. A $15 fee applies under the Minority Contractor Opportunity Initiative for contracts of $1,000 or more.

Evaluation is weighted as technical requirements (1,170 points), commitment to diversity (234 points), and pricing (281 points), for a maximum 1,685 available points. Vendors must submit an active Illinois Procurement Gateway Registration Number or standard Vendor Disclosure Form, complete the Commitment to Diversity Vendor Answer Sheet with supporting documentation, and disclose all subcontractors with annual contract values of $100,000 or more. The state reserves the right to reject any or all offers and award by item, group of items, or grand total.