07307 – Catering Services – Wellness Program “Energize Your Meetings”

State of Washington

DEPARTMENT OF GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

Office of State Procurement

210 11th Avenue SW, Rm. 201, Olympia, Washington 98504-1017 l (360) 902-7400

http://www.ga.wa.gov

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

Catering Services – Wellness Program “Energize Your Meetings”

07307

Solicitation Number / Pre-Proposal Conference Date & Time / Proposal due date and time
07307 / April 8, 2008 2:00 PM / April 17, 2008 2:00 PM.

Shannon L McGuire

Procurement Coordinator

Phone (360) 902-7284

Fax (360) 586-2426

E-mail:

To request this information in alternative formats call (360) 902-7400, or TDD (360) 664-3799.

http://www.ga.wa.gov/webs/

Proposals must be received & stamped on or before the Proposal due date and time at this location:

210 11th Avenue SW, Rm. 201

General Administration Building

Olympia WA 98504-1017

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07307 – Catering Services – Wellness Program “Energize Your Meetings”

BIDDER’S AUTHORIZED OFFER

Catering Services – Wellness Program “Energize Your Meetings”

Issued by the State of Washington

Certifications and Assurances

We make the following certifications and assurances as a required element of the Response, to which it is attached, affirming the truthfulness of the facts declared here and acknowledging that the continuing compliance with these statements and all requirements of the RFP are conditions precedent to the award or continuation of the resulting Contract.

1.  The prices in this Response have been arrived at independently, without, for the purpose of restricting competition, any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offeror or competitor relating to (i)those prices, (ii) the intention to submit an offer, or (iii) the methods or factors used to calculate the prices offered. The prices in this Response have not been and will not be knowingly disclosed by the offeror, directly or indirectly, to any other offeror or competitor before Contract award unless otherwise required by law. No attempt has been made or will be made by the offeror to induce any other concern to submit or not to submit an offer for the purpose of restricting competition. However, we may freely join with other persons or organizations for the purpose of presenting a single Proposal.

2.  The attached Response is a firm offer for a period of 90 days following the Response Due Date specified in the RFP, and it may be accepted by the Purchasing Activity without further negotiation (except where obviously required by lack of certainty in key terms) at any time within the 90-day period. In the case of protest, our Response will remain valid for 180 days or until the protest and any related court action is resolved, whichever is later.

3.  In preparing this Response, we have not been assisted by any current or former employee of the state of Washington whose duties relate (or did relate) to the State's solicitation, or prospective Contract, and who was assisting in other than his or her official, public capacity. Neither does such a person nor any member of his or her immediate family have any financial interest in the outcome of this Response. (Any exceptions to these assurances are described in full detail on a separate page and attached to this document.)

4.  We understand that the State will not reimburse us for any costs incurred in the preparation of this Response. All Responses become the property of the State, and we claim no proprietary right to the ideas, writings, items or samples unless so stated in the Response. Submission of the attached Response constitutes an acceptance of the evaluation criteria and an agreement to abide by the procedures and all other administrative requirements described in the solicitation document.

5.  We understand that any Contract awarded, as a result of this Response will incorporate all the solicitation requirements. Submission of a Response and execution of this Certifications and Assurances document certify our willingness to comply with the Contract terms and conditions appearing in Appendix B, if selected as a contractor. It is further understood that our standard contract will not be considered as a replacement for the terms and conditions appearing in Appendix B of this solicitation.

6.  We (circle one) are / are not submitting proposed Contract exceptions (see Subsection 3.15, Contract Requirements).

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7.  The authorized signatory below acknowledges having read and understood the entire solicitation and agrees to comply with the terms and conditions of the solicitation in submitting and fulfilling the offer made in its Proposal.

8.  By submitting this Proposal, Bidder hereby offers to furnish materials, supplies, services and/or equipment in compliance with all terms, conditions, and specifications contained in this solicitation.

The signatory below represents that he/she has the authority to bind the company named below to the Proposal submitted and any contract awarded as a result of this solicitation.

Bidder Signature / Company Name
Title / Date

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

BIDDER’S AUTHORIZED OFFER 2

1 INTRODUCTION 6

1.1 SCOPE 6

1.2 BACKGROUND 6

1.3 PURPOSE 7

1.4 Acquisition Authority 7

1.5 Expected Result 7

1.6 PURCHASERS 7

1.7 AWARD 7

1.8 IN-STATE PREFERENCE/RECIPROCITY 7

1.9 TERM 8

1.10 ESTIMATED USAGE 8

1.11 DEFINITIONS 8

1.12 ADMINISTRATION OF CONTRACT 11

2 PROCUREMENT SCHEDULE 11

3 ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS 12

3.1 aUTHORIZED COMMUNICATION 12

3.2 BIDDER COMMUNICATION RESPONSIBILITIES 12

3.3 PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE 13

3.4 BIDDER RESPONSIVENESS 13

3.5 BIDDER’S RESPONSIBILITIES 14

3.6 PREPARATION OF PROPOSALS 14

3.7 WITHDRAWAL OR MODIFICATION OF PROPOSAL 15

3.8 PROPOSAL OPENING 15

3.9 CONTRACT INFORMATION AVAILABILITY AFTER AWARD 15

3.10 CONTRACT FORMATION 15

3.11 COST OF RESPONSE PREPARATION 15

3.12 PROPRIETARY OR CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION 15

3.13 SOLICITATION AMENDMENTS 16

3.14 Right to Cancel 16

3.15 Contract Requirements 16

3.16 Incorporation of Documents into Contract 17

3.17 No Best and Final Offer 17

3.18 No Costs or Charges 17

3.19 Minority and Women OWNED Business Enterprises (MWBE) 17

3.20 Non-Endorsement and Publicity 18

3.21 Protest Procedures 18

4 BIDDER INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS 18

4.1 (M) BIDDER AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE 18

4.2 (M) Use of Subcontractors 18

4.3 (M) Insurance 19

4.4 POST AWARD CONFERENCE 19

5 OVERVIEW 19

5.1 (m/s) PAYMENT TERMS 19

5.2 (M) Miscellaneous Expenses 19

6 EVALUATION AND AWARD 19

6.1 Overview 19

6.2 EVALUATION PROCESS 20

6.3 Selection of Apparently Successful bidder 20

6.4 NOTIFICATION of Apparently Successful Bidders 21

7 OVERVIEW 22

7.1 (m/s) PAYMENT TERMS 22

7.2 (M) Miscellaneous Expenses 22

8 EVALUATION AND AWARD 22

8.1 Overview 22

8.2 EVALUATION PROCESS 23

8.3 Selection of Apparently Successful bidder 23

8.4 NOTIFICATION of Apparently Successful Bidders 23

CHECK LIST 24

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07307 – Catering Services – Wellness Program “Energize Your Meetings”

1  INTRODUCTION

1.1  SCOPE

The contract resulting from this RFP will provide purchasers with a pool of qualified vendors to provide catering services to state customers located in Thurston County. Of specific interest are vendors able to meet the criteria set forth in “Energize Your Meetings,” a healthy meeting program promoted by Washington Wellness, the state employees’ wellness program.

Depending upon the success of the contract for Thurston County, it is the state’s intent to expand the program to include other counties across the state.

In addition to providing typical catering requirements, successful contractors must be able to provide food and beverages that allow their customers to host a Three, Four or Five Star Meeting as defined by the “Energize Your Meeting” guidelines, available at

http://www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/NutritionPA/pdf_files/Energize-Your-Meetings.pdf

State agencies will be encouraged to select suppliers from this pre-approved vendor list. They will be encouraged to host a five star meeting and will be responsible for working with the qualified vendor to plan food and beverages that meet either a three, four or five star meeting.

3 Stars / 4 Stars / 5 Stars
  Pork products served separately from other options
  Vegetarian meal option
  Meat served separately from non-meat options
  Water at breaks and meals (tap water is preferred, bottled water is acceptable)
  Fruit and/or vegetables at all light refreshments and meals
  Choice of low calorie beverages when serving beverages other than water /   Meet the 3 stars criteria
  Whole grain option when grains are served
  Low fat cheeses, milk, yogurt, soy milk when dairy and soy products are served
  Lean meats when meats are served
  Meats cooked in healthy manner when meats are served
  Non meat protein option when meat is served /   Meet the 4 stars criteria
  Healthy fats in all foods
o  No synthetic trans-fat
o  Limited saturated fat
  Healthy portion sizes
  Locally grown foods when possible

For the most part, allowable expenditures for meals are as defined by the Office of Financial Management per diem rules and regulations, reference http://www.ofm.wa.gov/resources/travel/bwmap1007.pdf. Therefore, firms responding to this RFP will not be required to provide pricing with their responses. However, a quotation process has been incorporated herein which will provide customers a tool to solicit competition for their catering requirements from the pool of qualified firms.

1.2  BACKGROUND

The Department of Health and the Health Care Authority support Employee Wellness initiatives. It is envisioned that these two agencies will market the resulting contract to other state agencies in an effort to improve the nutritional value of meals served to state employees during business functions.

1.3  PURPOSE

The purpose of this solicitation is to establish qualified “Vendor Pools” for catering services that state customers may utilize to procure meals and refreshments for business functions.

1.4  Acquisition Authority

The Washington State Department of General Administration (GA or Purchasing Activity) issues this Request for Proposal (RFP) acting under the authority of its enabling legislation Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 43.19 which establishes GA and regulates the manner in which state agencies may acquire general goods and services.

1.5  Expected Result

The intent of this solicitation is to establish a contract for the as needed purchase of catering services for state agencies. The resulting contract will provide customers with a list of pre-qualified catering suppliers and a mechanism to solicit competitive quotations if desired.

1.6  PURCHASERS

General Use:

The resulting contract is for use by all members of the Washington State Purchasing Cooperative (WSPC) including where applicable: State Agencies, Institutions of Higher Education, Political Subdivisions, and Non-Profit Corporations.

While use of the contract by Political Subdivisions and Non-Profit Corporations that are members of the WSPC is optional, the Office of State Procurement encourages them to use state contracts. Their use of the contracts may significantly increase the purchase volume. Their orders are subject to the same contract terms, conditions and pricing as state agencies. The Office of State Procurement accepts no responsibility for orders or payment by WSPC members.

A list of WSPC members is available at http://www.ga.wa.gov/PCA/SPC.htm.

1.7  AWARD

The Purchasing Activity reserves the right to select and enter into a contract for catering services with multiple qualified vendors as a result of this solicitation. To be included in the pool, pre-qualified vendors will be required to sign Convenience Contracts with the Purchasing Activity after award of this RFP. A Model Contract is attached in Appendix B for Bidder’s convenience.

1.8  IN-STATE PREFERENCE/RECIPROCITY

Pursuant to RCW 43.19.700, RCW 43.19.702, RCW 43.19.704 and WAC 236-48-085, the Department of General Administration has established a schedule of percentage increases to be added to Proposals from Bidders in states that grant a preference to Contractors located in their state or for goods manufactured in their state. The percentages related to each respective state are provided in the Reciprocity List located at http://www.ga.wa.gov/pca/recip.htm and apply only to Proposals received from those states listed.

The appropriate percentage will be added to each Proposal bearing the address from a state with in-state preferences rather than subtracting a like amount from Washington State Bidders.

This action will be used only for analysis and award purposes. In no instances shall the increase be paid to a Bidder whose Proposal is accepted and awarded a Contract.

1.9  TERM

The term of the Contract resulting from this Solicitation shall be for two years, from date of award (projected to be May of 2008) with the option to extend for additional term(s) or portions thereof. Such extensions shall be offered at the sole discretion of the Purchasing Activity and will be subject to mutual agreement. The total contract term, including the initial term and all subsequent extensions, may not exceed six (6) years unless an emergency exists and/or special circumstances require a partial term extension. The State reserves the right to extend with all or some of the contractors, solely determined by the State.

1.10  ESTIMATED USAGE

Anticipated usage of the resulting contract is unknown, primarily because this is a first time contracting endeavor by the State. However, spend data analysis on a statewide basis reveals that, as a whole, during years 2006 and 2007, state agencies spent approximately $2,000,000.00 for catering services from a variety of suppliers.

The State of Washington does not represent or guarantee any minimum purchase.

1.11  DEFINITIONS

This section contains definitions of terms commonly used in Solicitations conducted by the State of Washington, Office of State Procurement. Additional definitions may also be found in Chapter 43.19 RCW and WAC 236-48-003, and all terms contained herein will be read consistently with those definitions.

Acceptance / The materials, supplies, services, and/or equipment have passed appropriate Inspection. In the event that there is a formal Acceptance Testing period required in the Solicitation document then acceptance is formalized in writing. If there is no Acceptance Testing, acceptance may occur when the Products are delivered and inspected.
Acceptance Testing / The process for ascertaining that the materials, supplies, services, and/or equipment meets the standards set forth in the Solicitation, prior to Acceptance by the Purchaser.
Agency / Includes State of Washington institutions, the offices of the elective state officers, the Supreme Court, the court of appeals, the administrative and other departments of state government, and the offices of all appointive officers of the state. In addition, colleges, community colleges, and universities who choose to participate in State Contract(s) are included. "Agency" does not include the legislature.