Big Sky Mobile Catering Corp

Big Sky Mobile Catering Corp, a for-profit Subchapter S corporation based in Missoula, Montana, delivers mobile food service operations to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service as a prime contractor exclusively under total small business set-aside vehicles, operating 100 percent of its federal footprint without subcontractor engagement. The vendor competes across multiple Forest Service regions and the National Interagency Fire Center, serving wildland fire suppression, all-hazard incidents, and emergency response operations across the western United States.

Big Sky operates as a pure small-business prime contractor. All 233 awards in the source footprint are prime contracts; the vendor has no sub-award presence. The company holds a continuous federal relationship with USDA Forest Service dating to 2003 SAM.gov registration and competes exclusively under total small business set-aside designations on its parent indefinite delivery vehicles, though individual delivery orders issued under those vehicles are not set-aside designated. Concrete capability work centers on meal preparation, planning, and delivery of hot and cold meals, snacks, and provisions to firefighters, incident management teams, and emergency personnel in remote field environments, supported by a fleet of fully equipped mobile kitchen units capable of rapid deployment. Recent representative delivery orders include a $1.95 million order from Forest Service Region 9 (Eastern Region) awarded July 25, 2026, a $1.63 million order from Region 6 (Pacific Northwest Region) awarded August 18, 2026, and a $1.15 million order from Region 4 (Intermountain Region) awarded August 22, 2026, all under the Forest Service National Mobile Food Service Unit 2025-2029 IDIQ.

Customer concentration is pronounced and singular. The top five funding customers account for 77 percent of recent award count and 98 percent of combined potential value. The Department of Agriculture Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management National Interagency Fire Center dominates both metrics, holding 80 awards valued at $278.2 million combined potential value. The broader Forest Service organization (regional offices and headquarters-level awards) accounts for an additional 99 awards valued at $61.8 million. No other federal agencies appear in the award portfolio; Big Sky operates entirely within the wildland fire and disaster relief market.

Big Sky holds two active parent indefinite delivery vehicles. The primary vehicle is Indefinite Delivery Contract 12024B20T2504, a $60 million total small business set-aside running through December 31, 2024 (or into 2029 under the newer Forest Service National Mobile Food Service Unit 2025-2029 award dated July 1, 2025), under which 168 task orders have generated $60.4 million in combined potential value. The newer Forest Service National Mobile Food Service Unit 2025-2029 IDIQ, a $60 million multiple-award total small business set-aside awarded July 1, 2025 and extending through December 31, 2029, has generated 24 task orders valued at $25.5 million. Two additional IDCs (53024B92050 and AG024BC159000A) carry smaller task-order volumes ($23.1 million and $7.9 million combined potential value, respectively).

Activity has contracted materially in recent years. Award volume peaked at 53 in 2023, declined to 30 in 2024, 18 in 2025, and 14 in 2026 year-to-date. Combined potential value across the portfolio stands at $348 million, with $199.9 million obligated (57 percent). The vendor faces recompete exposure on the original $100 million five-year IDC—now superseded by the 2025-2029 vehicle—as regional task orders reach completion dates of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2025.

Service Contract Inventory data shows seasonal workforce scaling aligned with fire season. SCI-reported invoiced revenue totaled $41.5 million across FY2023–FY2025 (no FY2022 SCI records). Workforce grew from 26.4 FTEs in FY2023 to 31.6 FTEs in FY2024 and 62.4 FTEs in FY2025, reflecting ramped seasonal staffing for summer fire operations. Government-paid hourly rates ranged from $100.69 per hour at the tenth percentile (entry-level food preparation roles) to $324.58 per hour at the ninety-percentile (senior management and logistics positions), with a median of $192.31 per hour. Across SCI-reportable prime contracts, zero percent of hours were subcontracted; Big Sky delivers all labor directly. The vendor operates no named subcontractor relationships on federal service contracts captured in SCI.

Big Sky Mobile Catering Corp's competitive position rests on its singular focus on federal wildland fire catering, its exclusive small-business set-aside access on parent IDCs, its established two-decade relationship with Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management, and its ability to field mobile kitchen units on rapid deployment cycles to remote incident locations across multiple western Forest Service regions. The business model is tightly coupled to seasonal wildfire activity and dependent on continued Forest Service contract awards under small-business set-asides.