Bid Forms and Documents—Food Service Management
Company Contracts
 Bid
Document Development
Federal regulations (7 CFR Part
3016.36(b)) prohibit the awarding of contracts to any person
or entity that develops
or drafts specifications, requirements,
statements of work, invitations for bids, requests for proposals, contract
terms and conditions or other procurement documents. In
failing to fulfill its responsibilities
to draft its own specifications and procurement documents, a school food authority
(SFA) which copies a list of features or evaluation and ranking criteria drafted
by a potential vendor and then permits that potential vendor to submit a bid
has violated federal regulation 7 CFR Part 3016.60(b). This pertains to all
child nutrition program procurements, including software
acquisitions. While schools
have broad discretion in gathering information for use in connection with procurements,
information from potential bidders must be appropriately modified to develop
tailored specifications; otherwise these bidders must be excluded from competing
for such procurements. This is to ensure objective contractor performance and
eliminate unfair competitive advantage.
Bid Procedures
Each SFA is required to have procurement procedures
in place that reflect applicable state and local laws and
regulations,
provided that procurements made with
nonprofit school food service account funds adhere to the standards set forth
in the federal
regulations. School food authority
procedures must also include a written code of standards of conduct meeting
the minimum
standards of 7 CFR Part 3016.36(b)(3) or 7 CFR Part 3019.42, as applicable.
Bid
Protests
Any action which diminishes open and free competition
seriously undermines the integrity of the procurement process
and may
subject an SFA to bid protests.
SFAs are responsible for properly responding to protests and concerns raised
by potential contractors. Pursuant to §3016.36(b) (12), SFAs must have
protest procedures in place to handle and resolve disputes relating to their
procurements
and must in all instances disclose information regarding a protest to the Illinois
State Board of Education Nutrition Programs Division.
Bid
Document Submission—Three-Step
Review Process
School food authorities are required to adhere to a three-step
submission and review process to ensure compliance with all federal and
state regulations
and statutes. All documents must be accompanied by the appropriate submission
form
and all required certification forms must be included as part of the Invitation
for Bid and Contract, as applicable.
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