Santa Monica Farmers Market Prepared Food

Transcription

1 Logistics Question 1 How much are the booth stall fees? Answer 1 The fees are as follows: Downtown Markets and Sunday Main Street Stall Space Santa Monica Businesses Non-Santa Monica Businesses 10x10 $100 per market attended $125 per market attended 10x20 $150 per market attended $175 per market attended Saturday Pico Farmers Market Stall Space Santa Monica Businesses Non-Santa Monica Businesses 10x10 $75 per market attended $100 per market attended 10x20 $125 per market attended $150 per market attended Question 2 Answer 2 Question 3 Answer 3 Question 4 Answer 4 Question 5 Answer 5 At the downtown markets I notice that there is a rotating restaurants space. Is there another Request for Proposal (RFP) for those? There is a separate program to highlight local restaurants both at the downtown markets and at the Main Street Market called the Featured Restaurant of the Week. This booth is exclusively for local business district restaurants. These restaurant rotations are separate from the prepared food bid (RFP) we are discussing here. If you qualify and are a local Downtown Santa Monica or Main Street restaurant, contact our administrative offices for details on how to participate. How many stall spaces are available? The number of prepared food stall spaces for each market will be determined by each Request for Proposal and may vary from year to year. No vendor will be granted more than 200 square feet. Please review the RFP to learn how much space is available each year. Is there a limit to the number of markets an applicant can apply for? Selected vendors will be chosen for only one of the four markets so when applying applicants should only indicate one market. May I deliver the application to you? Applications are only available and accepted during the annual application period. During this time, the application may be mailed, faxed or ed. It must be received in the Farmers Market administrative offices no later than 8/10/ P age

2 5:00 pm, on the date the application period closes (listed on the last page of the application) Question 6 Answer 6 Question 7 Answer 7 Question 8 Answer 8 Question 9 Answer 9 Question 10 Answer 10 Question 11 Answer 11 Question 12 Answer 12 Question 13 Answer 13 Question 14 Answer 14 Question 15 May I submit samples of my product? Product samples are not accepted, PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT SAMPLES. May I send photos with my application? Yes please. We want to apply with a catering truck; will you be considering food trucks? All vendors will be considered. The largest space allocation available is 10x20. All operations must be conducted within the allocated space. Will there be power and electricity or water available at the markets? Each market has different electric outlets, and they are very limited. You will need to be specific in your application and understand that power may not be available. A three compartment sink is available to rinse utensils, no substantial washing may be done in the provided sing. You may use water from the site to fill buckets or hand washing set ups. If I m willing to share space on a rotational basis, would this be a possibility? We will consider rotational booth spaces where two vendors share one space and rotate every other week. If you are open to such an arrangement, please indicate this on your application. Is the 3-compartment utensil sink you provide adequate? Yes. When do vendors start? Vendors will be starting in with a new quarter which coincides with issuing Temporary Health permits from the LA Department of Environmental Health. Temporary Health Permits are not prorated. What is the contract term? Contracts terms may change with each RFP, please refer to the current RFP for the contract length. Am I locked in to a contract if the booth doesn t work out for me? No, you may leave any time with no penalty. What happens to the space if someone drops out? 8/10/ P age

3 Answer 15 We will select another vendor from the list with products that represent a good match for the existing product mix. Evaluation Question 16 Answer 16 Question 17 Answer 17 Question 18 Answer 18 Question 19 Answer 19 Question 20 Answer 20 Question 21 Answer 21 Question 22 Answer 22 Question 23 Answer 23 Question 24 Who evaluates the applications? City staff, residents and industry experts. How many points are awarded for each scoring area? Please see rating matrix approved by City Council May 25, 2010 and listed on the Farmers Market website. I am a Santa Monica resident and I run my business out of my home; however my processing facility is in another city. Do I get the Santa Monica business preference? If you are operating a business in Santa Monica you do get the Santa Monica business preference even if you are manufacturing in another city. You do not get a Santa Monica preference simply for being a resident only. What do you need to prove you are a Santa Monica home business? Utility bills, tax forms, mail addressed to the business, a business license listing the home address as the primary business address, etc. What is a Green Business Certification and who is Sustainable Works? A Green Business Certification brands an organization with the status of providing ongoing environmentally sustainable ( Green ) business practices to their clients as well as internally. Sustainable Works is one non-profit environmental education organization that certifies businesses as Green. Is Greenopia an acceptable green certifier? Please present verifiable proof of any sustainable practices that you employ to indicate that you adhere to green business practices. Be sure you explain and document them. How do I demonstrate purchasing or sourcing relationships with farmers? Provide copies of past receipts, menus where farmers are listed and featured or letters or contracts from farmers including contact information. May I fill out the application electronically? The document is a PDF file, and can be edited through Adobe Acrobat Professional. If I have a product that is seasonal, can I participate and how would that work? 8/10/ P age

4 Answer 24 Question 25 Answer 25 Question 26 Answer 26 Question 27 Answer 27 Question 28 Answer 28 Question 29 Answer 29 If a complimentary vendor is identified to share space seasonally, we would treat the space like a rotating space seasonally. What are you looking for in the references section? For Industry References applicants may list those familiar with the operation such as farmers market managers, event coordinators, suppliers (especially farmers), etc. In the Client References applicants may submit letters of support from any type of client, farmers market customers, catering clients, etc. What should the client reference letters acknowledge? Client references may help support the scoring measure which deals with value. Clients can speak to the value that the vendors product or business brings to the market and to their experience at the market. This may indicate the popularity of a particular vendor when compared with other applicants and the quality of the products served. The goal of the markets in relation to prepared foods it to provide a wide selection of high quality product for farmers market customers and ultimately to support farmer sales. What should the industry reference letters acknowledge? Industry references are intended to give the evaluation committee some perspective on the potential working relationship with applicants. Industry references might include market managers from other markets or similar outdoor events the applicant participates in. Other examples are vendors whom the applicant has purchasing relationships, such as farmers or other suppliers. The ideal candidate will be purchasing the majority of their product ingredients from California Farmers, so anything that can substantiate these claims; receipts, letters, contracts, etc. will be helpful in evaluating the applicant. Additionally any information that helps the evaluators understand how it would be to work with a particular applicant; are they organized, are they on time, do they follow the rules, do they treat clients and colleagues respectfully, do they pay their bills on time, etc. My client references are written on my application. Should I attach a letter as well? You may attach as many letters as you like. If client references on the application are adequate, you do not need to also attach a letter. Your goal is to provide as much supporting documentation as you feel will help your application. Why does the application require a budget analysis? We want to be sure you understand the costs of running a temporary food booth and that you have considered the expenses. Running a prepared food booth is not as simple as it might seem. 8/10/ P age

5 Products Question 30 Answer 30 Question 31 Answer 31 Question 32 Answer 32 Question 33 Answer 33 Question 34 Answer 34 Question 35 Answer 35 Question 36 Answer 36 What kinds of foods are not acceptable for the prepared/packaged food section? Any agricultural or processed agricultural product that a farmer grows and could process, such as jam, juice, dried fruit and nuts including nut butter and nut milk would not be considered. If the agricultural product is a small portion of the prepared food, such blueberries added to a banana smoothie for example, that would be acceptable. Is there a list of non-permitted products for the non-certified section? No, there is no list, but in general the products in the non-certified section should complement, or be different from, the agricultural products in the certified section. The rules and RFP state that agricultural products are not permitted in the non-certified section. Coffee is an agricultural product we would like to sell. Is this permissible? Since coffee is not an agricultural product grown widely in California and since there are no similar products like it, it is permissible in the non-certified section. Non-California nuts and fruit would not be permissible in the noncertified section however. If we make preserves from fruit that we buy from farmers, is that allowed? Preserves are not going to be considered for the non-certified section since farmers already make and sell them in the certified section. Are all nut products prohibited from the non-certified section? What about nut milk? No not all nut products are prohibited. Products containing nuts as one ingredient such as muffins or cakes will be considered. Nut products such as nut milk, butters, roasted/flavored nuts, are a product produced by farmers and will not be considered. I have a product that includes salsa. Can I bring salsa? If the salsa is part of the overall product you can bring it as a topping or dressing; you may not sell by itself since the farmers make salsa. Are there any restrictions on selling bottled drinks? All products including beverages should be made fresh, not pre-packaged and resold. 8/10/ P age

6 Question 37 Answer 37 Question 38 Answer 38 Question 39 Answer 39 Question 40 Answer 40 Question 41 Answer 41 Question 42 Answer 42 Question 43 Answer 43 Question 44 Answer 44 We are applying sell banana shakes with coconut but we also have fruit juice mixers. Can we sell the bottled fruit juice as well? Not the bottled fruit juice, since it is an agricultural product. But you can sell coconut-banana shakes with some fruit juice added. Is it necessary to buy all ingredients from a farmer? No, but it will add to your score if you do so. Be sure that any purchases from a farmer can be verified with receipts or through references or contracts. Should we source all dairy products from a California farmer? It is not required, but it would add to your score if you did. Purchasing relationships must be verifiable. No juice at all in non-certified section? Most likely no. Remember we are looking for products that complement the farmers market, which does sell many different kinds of juice. If there is a choice between a juice maker and a prepared food vendor that sells food which no one else does, the space would likely go to the more unique product. Which markets are looking for baked goods? All of them Do we have a list of commercial kitchens to rent? You can do an internet search of commercial kitchens to rent We do not have a list. My product is seasonal so I would not need a year round booth This actually works for you. We will be willing to accommodate shared booths. This would also work if you prefer to come on a bi-weekly or monthly basis as long as we can find a match for the other dates. Can I change products? You may make menu changes only once a year during the annual renewal/application period. It is not guaranteed that they will be approved if they cause a surplus of any one product. 8/10/ P age