Food Services for the NIH Bethesda Campus

Please note that the PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE and FACILITY TOUR for this solicitation will be held on December 2, 2014 at the NIH Main Campus; 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892. Location: Building 45 (Natcher) Room: Balcony B Time: 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The RFP will be released on/or about November 25th, 2014. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This Pre-Solicitation notice is to inform all vendors that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is scheduling to release the formal Request for Proposal (RFP) for the services described below for The National Institutes of Health (NIH) via FBO on or about November 25, 2014. The NIH is soliciting contractual support to provide establish and operate multiple food service facilities, described herein, for the purpose of serving nutritious food and nonalcoholic beverages, and to provide catering services. The Federal Government is requesting proposals from experienced, socially responsible food service providers to deliver food and beverages at affordable options that are healthy, and when feasible, organic and grown locally; and maintain operations in an environmentally responsible and sustainable manner. Additionally, the Government envisions services under this contract to be a model for wellness and sustainable operations. Generally stated, this objective may be realized through operations that deliver food and beverage items that are consistent with the most current version of Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations. Additionally, the Offeror shall offer healthy foods, and when feasible, organic and locally grown/produced foods containing minimal chemical or biological additives. Contractor must be capable of providing an operation that uses a verifiable waste program that uses environmentally friendly products made from recycled materials that are recyclable and/or compostable. Finally, the Contractor shall meet or exceed customer expectations through creative marketing and innovative programs, delivery methods, and industry trends that educates and incentivizes consumers to make healthier food choices resulting in a measurable improvement to the health and wellbeing of the NIH community. The Government anticipates awarding a no-cost to the Government contract. This will be a performance-based contract for a base period of five (5) years with the Government having the unilateral option to extend services for two five-year options. The contractor shall establish and operate in the contractor's name, the food service facilities to be located at NIH Main Campus. The government will make an award to the responsible offeror whose offer conforms to the RFP and is most advantageous to the Government. The Government intends to evaluate offers and award a contract without discussions with offerors. Therefore, the offeror's initial offer should contain the offeror's best terms from a price and technical standpoint. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. This procurement will be issued as a full and open competition. The estimated start date is: early June 2015. The NAICS code for this requirement is 722310 with a size standard of $35.5 million dollars. Proposals will be evaluated on factors listed in the forthcoming solicitation. The solicitation will be available on or about November 25, 2014; the actual date for receipt of proposals will be stated in the solicitation. The solicitation will be available for download through the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) (fedbizopps.gov) website. All interested vendors must be registered with this website in order to download the solicitation and amendments. Offerors will be responsible for downloading the solicitation and for monitoring FBO for amendments and/or additional information. NOTE: Please refrain from submitting any questions at this time, as NIH will not be answering any questions prior to the release of the RFP. The Department is in the process of finalizing the requirement. Any information about a pre-proposal conference will be included in the RFP.