Any Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) or Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) sponsors that would like to contract with an outside organization to prepare meals for their program must follow the Food Service Management Company (FSMC) contracting process. The steps detailed in this article follow federal requirements.
Sponsors that contact with a FSMC still remain responsible for ensuring that the program meets all federal and state regulations.
Important Note for CACFP Sponsors: If you would like to purchase meals from a public or private nonprofit school, you may use a Vended Meal Agreement to do so. This does not require you to go out to bid and is generally an easier process. You should review the Vended Meals Agreement guidance and then reach out to Child Nutrition Programs staff for further instructions.
SFSP Sponsors that wish to contract with a public or private nonprofit school must go through the normal FSMC contracting process.
Using the Small Purchase Procedure
For all one-year contracts that have a value of $250,000 or less, sponsors may use the Small Purchase Procedure. The steps below lay out how to follow that process. If you have a one-year contract that will be over $250,000 in value, you must use a formal procurement method. If this applies to you, please reach out to Conor Floyd (conor.floyd@vermont.gov) for further instructions.
Contract Type
The instructions provided in this article are for sponsors seeking a Fixed Price Contract with a FSMC. Fixed Price Contracts are the only allowable contract type in Vermont. The materials also assume that meals will be prepared off-site and either delivered by the FSMC or picked up by the Sponsor. If you would like to have FSMC staff prepare meals on-site for your program, please reach out to Conor Floyd (conor.floyd@vermont.gov) for help adapting the materials.
Fixed-price: Under a fixed-price contract, the recipient agency pays a fixed cost per meal provided or a fixed cost for a certain time period.
Bidding Requirements
Below is a step-by-step guide to developing your specifications, soliciting bids, and awarding a contract for Food Service Management. Following these instructions will ensure that you are in compliance with all federal and state regulations.
Step 1: Develop your specifications within the Product Specifications and Contract template
- You should begin by thinking about what services you need. Information such as how many meals, what type of meals, and how meals will be delivered should be identified to inform potential bidders. Adapt the Product Specifications and Contract Template to your specific needs by following the instructions in the document. You should also include a cycle menu for the programs you would like to operate with the Product Specifications and Contract document.
- Remember, you must award the contract to the lowest bidder who meets all your requirements, so make sure your specifications are exactly what you need for your program!
Step 2: Submit your materials to the Child Nutrition Programs team for approval
- Before soliciting bids from FSMCs, you must submit your contract materials to the Child Nutrition Programs team for review and approval. We will check everything over to make sure your contract is allowable, and that everything has been completed.
- Send your materials to Conor Floyd (conor.floyd@vermont.gov).
Step 3: Solicit bids
- Once your materials have been approved, send out information to potential bidders. You may email the Product Specifications and Contract document directly to potential bidders for their review. You should give potential bidders at least 14 days to respond.
- Document all communications and bids using the Bid Tracking document.
Step 4: Award contract to lowest bidder
- Once the bid due date has passed, you should review all the bids received. Bids must be responsive and responsible.
- Responsive: Vendor’s products or services meets the Sponsor’s specifications.
- Responsible: Vendor can and will successfully fulfill the terms and conditions of the proposed procurement.
You must award the contract to the lowest priced responsive and responsible bid. You should sign the final page of the Product Specifications and Contract document. The contract is not considered fully executed until it has also been signed by the VT AOE.
Contracts may be sent to conor.floyd@vermont.gov.