Procuring Local Foods

Transcription

1 Procuring Local Foods For Child Nutrition Programs Association of School Business Officials November 6, 2015 Erin Kennedy, MPH, RDN Maryland State Department of Education Office of School & Community Nutrition Programs

2 Overview Defining local and where to find local foods Procurement principles and regulations Procurement methods Geographic preference Resources and questions

3 Defining Local and Where to Find Local Foods

4 What Types of Products?

5 MD Seasonality Charts MD Department of Agriculture

6 Defining Local Within a radius Within a county Within a state Within a region A district s definition of local may change depending on the: Season Product Special events

7 2015 Farm to School Census Data Harford County Public Schools defines local as produced within a 50 milemile radius. Carroll County Public Schools defines local as produced within a 100 milemile radius. Anne Arundel School District, in Maryland, defines local within a 150- mile radius. Montgomery County Public Schools defines local as produced within a 200 mile-mile radius. Caroline County Public Schools defines local as produced within the region.

8 Where to Get Local Foods Through distributors Through food service management companies From food processors Through DoD Fresh From individual producers From producer co-ops/ food hubs From school gardens» Farmers

9 Procurement Principles and Regulations

10 What Is Procurement? Procurement is the purchasing of goods and services. The procurement process involves: Planning Drafting Specifications Procurement Advertising the Procurement Principles Awarding a Contract Managing the Contract

11 4 Key Concepts 1) American Grown 2) Knowledge of State and Local Regulations 3) Competition 4) Responsive and Responsible

12 Competition Killers Do not Place unreasonable requirements on firms; Require unnecessary experience; Give noncompetitive awards to consultants or vendors; Have organizational conflicts of interest; Specify only brand name products; Make arbitrary decisions in the procurement process; Write bid specifications that are too narrow and limit competition; Allow potential contractors to write or otherwise influence bid specifications; or, Provide insufficient time for vendors to submit bids. Use local as a product specification.

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15 Local as a Specification This RFP is restricted to producers within the state. This RFP is for Maryland grown products for Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week. We are soliciting bids from producers within a 150 mile radius. We are soliciting bids for Washington grown products. Only products grown within a 300 mile radius will be accepted.

16 Procurement Methods

17 Procurement Methods Small Purchase Threshold > Federal Threshold = $150,000 Maryland Threshold = $25,000 Informal Formal Small Purchase (Requires price quotes from at least 3 bidders) Sealed Bids (IFBs) & Competitive Proposals (RFPs) (Requires public advertising)

18 Potential Specifications, Requirements, and Evaluation Criteria to Target Local Products» Particular varieties unique to the region» Freshness (e.g. Delivered within 48 hours)» Size of farm» Harvest techniques» Crop diversity» Origin labeling» Able to provide farm visits or class visits

19 Other Things to Consider When Writing Solicitations to Target Local Products Be flexible Don t include unnecessary requirements Consider what a vendor new to the school food market might not know» Condition upon receipt of product» Food safety needs» Size uniformity

20 Use Product Specifications to Target Local Product Specification Granny Smith or local variety, US. Fancy or No. 1, Prefer count boxes per week but willing to consider other pack sizes for September December Delivered within 48 hours of harvest

21 The Informal Procurement Process

22 Use it when: Small Purchase Procedure The estimated amount of your purchase falls below your small purchase threshold. Small purchases require that schools: Acquire bids from at least three responsible and responsive vendors; Develop written specifications; and, Document all bids.

23 Three Bids and a Buy Develop a Specification Granny Smith apples or local variety, US. Fancy or No. 1, prefer five 185 count boxes per week but willing to consider other pack sizes for Sept-Dec Solicit Bids Contact ONLY LOCAL vendors (by phone, fax, , in-person or via mail) and provide them with specifications (or if calling, read same information to each vendor). Bid Documentation Write down each vendor s bid and constraints; then file it. Vendor Art s Apples Olivia s Orchard Apple Crunch Inc. Price/box $40 $47 $37

24 Splitting Procurements SFAs cannot arbitrarily divide purchases to fall below the small purchase threshold. In some instances, however, characteristics of a product or market justify the need to separate it from the overall food procurement. such as Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week, Harvest of the Month programs, taste tests, products for a Farm to School Month promotion. (But you still can t use local as a specification!)

25 The Formal Procurement Process

26 Competitive Sealed Bidding Procurement by competitive sealed bidding is done by issuing an invitation for bid (IFB). Use it when: A complete, adequate, and realistic specification is available. The contract can be awarded on the basis of price.

27 Contract Type Invitation for Bid (IFB) Solicitation Introduction/Scope» Ex. Our district strives to serve local products as much as possible and our goal is to serve 20% local products. General Descriptions of Goods and Services (AKA Specifications)» Ex. Product specifications Timelines and Procedures Technical Requirements» Ex. Determine responsive and responsible vendors

28 Competitive Proposals Procurement by competitive proposal is done by issuing a request for proposal (RFP). Use it when: Conditions aren t appropriate for a sealed bid. Price won t necessarily be the sole basis for the award.

29 Request for Proposals (RFP) Solicitation Contract Type Introduction/Scope» Ex. Our district strives to serve local products as much as possible and our goal is to serve 20% local products. General Descriptions of Goods and Services (AKA Specifications)» Ex. Product specifications Timelines and Procedures Technical Requirements» Ex. Determine responsive and responsible vendors Evaluation Criteria

30 Include Your Desire for Local in the Introduction Anne Arundel County Public Schools aims to promote healthy lifestyles and educate students about the importance of nutrition in the classroom and the cafeteria, placing an emphasis on multiple offerings of fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily basis, and offering local foods when available, and as often as price and quality are acceptable. Locally grown produce is defined as produce that is grown within a one hundred fifty (150) mile radius of Anne Arundel County. For the purposes of this Bid, farm is defined as the location where the produce is grown, not the address of a packinghouse or aggregation point. Items purchased by AACPS shall be determined by availability and school menus.

31 Use Technical Requirements to Determine Vendor Responsiveness Remember that you must award to a vendor who is both responsive and responsible! Evaluate responsiveness in any procurement method IFB, RFP or Informal. All vendors must be able to provide the products you need to be considered responsive. You can include additional vendor, including:» Able to provide farm visits» State of origin or farm origin labeling» Provide products grown on a particular size farm

32 Example: Use Criteria to Determine Responsiveness Product Specification Green apples, US. Fancy or No. 1, prefer count boxes per week but willing to consider other pack sizes for September - December Contractor ability to meet all specifications Product quality Delivery Packaging and Labeling Apple Lane Great Granny s Fred s Fuji s Three references, past history Able to provide harvest tour to two 3 rd grade classes in October -- Able to provide state of origin on all products -- Delivered within 24 hours of harvest --

33 Use Criteria to Evaluate Vendor Proposals Use those same criteria mentioned before, but assign weights to evaluate in an RFP. The amount of weight determines how important the criterion is. Think about including criteria such as:» Able to provide farm visits» State of origin or farm origin labeling» Provide products grown on a particular size farm

34 Example: Use Criteria in an RFP Product Specification Green apples, US. Fancy or No. 1, prefer count boxes per week but willing to consider other pack sizes for September - December Apple Lane Great Granny s Fred s Fuji s Price = Contractor ability to meet all specifications Product quality = 15 Delivery = 10 Packaging and Labeling = Three references, past history = Able to provide farm/facility tour or classroom visits = 5 Able to provide state of origin on all products = Delivered within 24 hours of harvest = possible points

35 Example: San Diego Unified RFP Vendors will provide products: Grown on farms that are less than 50 acres in size; Grown on farms that grow more than five food crops at one time; Grown on farms that utilize a majority of hand harvesting, hand packing or human labor power in growing, harvesting. and packing of food; Delivered directly to multiple SDUSD school sites (not a central warehouse). The number of drops is to be determined by the district on a case-by-case basis; Produce should be generally free from insect damage and decay; and, Product must be rinsed, cleaned and packed in appropriate commercial produce packaging, such as waxed cardboard boxes. Standard industry pack (case counts) is required and/or half packs are allowable when it comes to bundled greens.

36 The Geographic Preference Option

37 Geographic Preference Option Final Rule What the rule does: 1. Grants authority to school food authorities to define local. 2. Defines unprocessed agricultural products. 3. Clarifies that a preference is a preference, not a specification.

38 What Is Unprocessed? Unprocessed agricultural products retain their inherent character. These are the allowed food handling and preservation techniques: Cooling, refrigerating, and freezing Peeling, slicing, dicing, cutting, chopping, shucking, and grinding Washing, packaging, vacuum packing, and bagging Adding preservatives to prevent oxidation Butchering livestock or poultry Pasteurizing milk Forming ground products into patties Drying and dehydrating

39 Quiz: Which of the following products qualify as unprocessed?

40 Dried Beans

41 Canned Beans

42 Hummus

43 Mixed Color Carrots

44 Mixed Frozen Peas and Carrots

45 Whole Apples

46 Tortillas

47 Raw Beef Patties

48 How to Use the Geographic Preference Option

49 1) Define local. How to Incorporate a Geographic Preference 2) Determine what type of procurement method to use. 3) Decide how much preference local products will receive. 4) Be sure your solicitation makes perfectly clear how the preference will be applied.

50 Example 1: 1 Point = 1 Penny Owen s Orchard Apple Lane Farms Bob s Best Price $1.97 $2.05 $2.03 Meets geographic preference? (10 points) Price with preference points No Yes (10 points) No $1.97 $1.95 $ points will be awarded to bids for apples grown within 100 miles of the school board office.

51 Example 2: Tiered Preference Produce Express Ray s Produce F&V Distribution Contract Price $31,000 $35,000 $34,000 Geographic preference points to respondent able to meet definition of local No Yes (10% pref.) Yes (7% pref.) Price for comparison $31,000 $31,500 $31,620 10% price preference will be awarded to any bidder that can source products from within 100 miles and 7% price preference will be awarded to any bidder able to source product from within the state.

52 Geo. Preference Sliding Scale Sliding scale percentage of local products Preference points 70% and more % % 5 10 preference points will be awarded to vendors able to provide over 70% local, 7 points for 50-69% and 5 points for 25-49%.

53 Example 3: Geo Pref. in an RFP Laurie s Legumes Paula s Pulses Gary s Grains Price = Contractor able to meet all specifications Product quality = 15 Delivery = 10 Packaging and Labeling = Three references, past history = Able to provide farm/facility tour or classroom visits = 5 Able to provide state of origin on all products = 5 Able to provide products from within the state = possible points

54 Farm to School Resources

55 Local Procurement Guide Available at: or on the Procuring Local Foods page of the USDA Farm to School website: oschool/procuring-local-foods

56 Thank you! Questions?