Commodity Processing-Mashed Potatoes

The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit competitive sealed proposals from qualified suppliers for the processing of USDA Commodity Mashed Potatoes products for the Utah Cooperative for Acquiring Resources Efficiently organization (UCARE).  It is anticipated that this RFP may result in a contract award to a single or multiple suppliers for such items and services, as defined further in the Proposal Requirements. UCARE is currently a group of 21 school districts in the State of Utah.  The Canyons School District (CSD) Purchasing Department is acting as the managing agency for UCARE’s food contracts.  Qualifications, submittals, and subsequent proposals will be received by CSD on behalf of UCARE. UCARE includes the following districts, which are all supported by this contract: Alpine, Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Canyons, Carbon, Emery, Grand, Juab, Logan, Morgan, Nebo, Ogden, Park City, Provo, Sevier, South Sanpete, South Summit, Tooele, Wasatch, and Weber.  


Eligibility Requirements
1.The proposing Supplier must be properly licensed to do business in the State of Utah. 2. The interested supplier must be a USDA-approved processing plant, and have been approved by the Utah State Board of Education Child Nutrition office to process USDA commodity Mashed Potatoes for the State of Utah.   Federal Requirements The interested supplier must comply with Federal Code 2 CFR, parts 200.318-326 General Procurement Requirements: 1. 2 CFR Part 200.318-326 General Procurement Requirements 2. Contract provisions as required in appendix II to 2 CFR 200 3. 210.21(d) and 7 CFR Part 220.16(d)”. Buy American Provisions, 7 CFR Part 210, 220 &250 - Agricultural Buy American Provisions, 250.17 buy American to the maximum extent practicable, Buy American Waiver 4. 210 19-21 Additional responsibilities, state reviews, reporting and recordkeeping, contract responsibilities 5. 250.31-USDA Commodity processing requirements 6. Commodity Processors must have passed a third-party audit, have a National Processing Agreement for multi-State processors, State Participation Agreement, In-State Processing Agreement, Recipient Agency Agreement, Acceptability of End Products, Prohibition of subcontracting, Agreement between processors and distributor, for the duration of agreement, etc. 7. All ingredients in food items and included in the proposal must have zero trans fat 8. Contract changes (including adding or discontinuing items) must not exceed 10% of the total contract value 9. Executive order – requirement to follow the State Energy Policy and Conservation Act(PL 94-165)
The Supplier is required to submit the following Federally-required documentation and information with the proposal: 1. Signed certification regarding lobbying 2. Documentation providing (3) year history of food safety violations by USDA or any state/local health department. 3. Documentation providing proof of an audit score of no less than 90% for the anticipated processing facility. 4. Supplier must submit current Summary End Product Data Schedule (SEPDS). The end product data schedule must include all required information and proposal prices. Each end product data schedule must be signed and dated by the supplier. 5. In the proposal, include the Value Pass Through Method used, price, value of donated food, location for delivery of end products and comply with 2 CFR 200: Fee For Service (FFS) or Net of Invoice (NOI) 6. In the proposal, you must also state whether or not you have a small business initiative, fostering a positive environment to support minority, women-owned and labor surplus areas (small business initiative) 7. In the proposal, the supplier must provide information detailing a Food Recall Provision which must comply with all Federal, State and local requirements regarding the identification and recall of foods. The process for recalling foods must include accurate and timely communications to UCARE, and assurance that unsafe products are identified and removed from District/School sites. The proposal company shall maintain all paperwork required for the immediate and proper notification of recalls for full and split cases.  Recall policy must also include a point of contact with a backup contact person and info listed.
  Contract Pricing The contract will be a Firm Fixed Price Contract. All prices quoted must be firm for the contract year July 1 to June 30. UCARE may negotiate with the selected supplier to remove or add items from the Contract if it is advantageous to the Co-op.  
Substitutions Due to the changes in the USDA regulations for school nutrition, if there are changes in products, product item codes, nutrition profiles, or if items originally placed in the proposal are deleted, UCARE reserves the right to substitute items available with the vendor for the poundage available. Both parties agree that the aggregate value of added purchases during the year of the contract, if renewable, shall not exceed 10% of the estimated total value of the contract. Such additions may be included in the awarded contract list during the contract renewal through a contract amendment, and the total contract value adjusted accordingly.   Estimated Usage The estimated usage for the fiscal year’s diverted pounds from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027, is expected to be about 28,917 pounds. (Based on school year 2024-2025 usage) This is not a guaranteed amount, just an estimate. The Mashed Potatoes Commodity Codes are 110227, 100506     Usage or Velocity Reports Vendors are required to submit a monthly product velocity report to UCARE, attention Michelle McCombs, at the end of each month, and a yearly report at the end of each school year. This usage report is to include item description, total units purchased per item, and total cost per item.   Brand The brand or trade name, manufacturer’s name, identification number, and CN label must be given on each case of merchandise sold to each school district. Products must have an equivalent item available for purchase through the UCARE distributor.
Grade The grade must be specified for each product as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Specifications The supplier must propose products that are equal to or better than the products listed under each item on the Price Schedule. The supplier must provide SEPDS sheets, CN labeling, and/or product specification sheets for all products being quoted. The following must be included on such sheets:
a) Item name, DF# case weight, case pack, direct delivery case price, minimum pounds for shipping b) Item name, DF# case weight, case pack, net off invoice case price c) Item name, DF# case weight, case pack, case price for shipping through State Warehouse at Freeport Center, Utah
Proposal items will be disqualified that do not meet or exceed all specifications listed in the proposal. If a product is processed and it is later established that said product fails to comply with these specifications the item will be rejected and returned to the Supplier at the Supplier’s expense. Also, no furnished goods shall be older than last season’s pack.   Pricing The Price Schedule (attached as schedule F) must be completed in its entirety. This is the document that will be used to evaluate pricing. Prices must not include tax. All prices should be rounded to the nearest cent.   Product Samples  Samples may be requested to assist in making final decisions for contract award. Samples must be furnished without cost to UCARE within a reasonable time after the proposal. Failure to furnish samples may disqualify the proposal. If samples are requested, they will be evaluated and deemed acceptable or nonacceptable by UCARE based on taste, appearance, and texture.                   EVALUATION CRITERIA AND METHODS UCARE will evaluate each proposal submitted based on responsiveness to UCARE's overall needs. The award of contract, if made, will be to the supplier(s) who is responsive and responsible to all administrative and technical requirements of the RFP; who has demonstrated competence and qualifications in regards to providing the services required; the pricing for the services offered; and who receives the highest rating based upon all of the criteria set forth in the RFP.
  Potential points are as follows: n/a: Certification of Proposal (Schedule A) 5 Points: Executive Summary (Schedule B) 10 Points: Qualifications/Experience(Schedule C) 10 Points: Detailed Response, should include any Federal required documentation (Schedule D) 5 Points: References (Schedule E) 40 Points: Price Proposal (Schedule F)
30 Points: Product Samples, if required – Taste (10), Texture (10), Appearance (10)  
  EVALUATION METHOD The schedules will be scored by an evaluation committee. Evaluators will score each section 0-5 (0 being the low and 5 being the high). Scores will then be multiplied by a specified number (see the example evaluation sheet at the end of this document for further clarification). The scores will be totaled and added to the price scores to obtain the overall highest score.   Schedule F (Price Proposal) will be evaluated by the Purchasing Agent using the following cost formula:
(Lowest Proposed Price/Each Individual Proposed Price) x 40 Points
NOTE: If price proposals are unclear and clarification is needed, the Procurement Officer reserves the right to request a best and final offer from all responsive and responsible submitting suppliers.

Commodity