By ZEINAB NAJM
Times-Herald Newspapers
HEIGHTS — Dearborn Heights District No. 7 is seeking bids for a food service management company to provide breakfast and lunch for students across the district.
Supt. Jennifer Mast said the district is required to go out for a bid every five years giving companies the opportunity to bid to provide food services.
According to the district website, the bid request was released on April 10, a walkthrough took place on April 17, the pre-proposal question deadline is scheduled for April 22 with answers posted on Bid4Michigan by April 24 and bid proposals due are due at 10 a.m. May 1 for consideration.
The district’s current food service management company is Sodexo. On April 17, Sodexo and three other companies — ChartWells, Southwest Foodservice Excellence and The Nutrition Group completed a walkthrough in the district’s schools.
Mast said companies that did not attend the walkthrough, but submitted a bid proposal by the deadline still will be considered. Bids must be submitted in two parts: a bid price per meal or meal equivalent and as a written or oral presentation, according to the district’s website.
Companies that enter the bidding process must follow the state’s nutrition standards for school meals and also provide a sample menu of their options.
The sealed proposals are required to be submitted by the deadline then Mast will review them and make a recommendation to the D7 Board of Education. For the food service management company, the recommendation will be on the board’s May 15 agenda and a vote will take place during the meeting at the Board of Education Office, 20629 Annapolis.
The winning company will sign a contract with the district for an “initial term of one year effective on July 1, 2019, or upon written approval of the contract by the Michigan Department of Education, whichever occurs last, and ending June 30, 2020, with up to four one-year renewals with mutual agreement between the school food authority — District No. 7 in this case — and food service management company,” according to the district’s website.
Mast said the district has gone out for a few other bids recently, including one for an auditing firm, windows at the board office, and for wall mounted cafeteria tables and benches at Bedford Elementary School.
Bid requests are put out when an item or items needed for the district surpass $10,000 as required by the board’s policies. For more information on the district’s food service management company bid go to www.district7.net.
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected].)