Commissary Services Request for Proposals

CITY OF ST. LOUIS
DIVISION OF CORRECTIONS
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
FOR: COMMISSARY SERVICES
ISSUED: August 31, 2026
MAIL OR DELIVER City of St. Louis Justice Center
PROPOSALS TO: Earline L. Bell
Contract Compliance Officer
200 S. Tucker Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63102
TELEPHONE: (314) 621-5848 ext. 1069
PROPOSALS DUE: September 30, 2026 5:00 P.M. CDT
One (1) original and six (6) paper copies of the proposal and a USB flash drive containing
an electronic version of the proposal must be received by the above deadline in a sealed
envelope with the envelope clearly marked "DOC COMMISSARY RFP-2026" on the
outside or it will not be considered. All proposals must include complete and thorough
responses to the RFP. All questions must be submitted in writing to the Contract
Compliance Officer at the above address no later than September 30, 2026.
There will be a walk-through of the facility for the potential vendors on September 21,
2026. Attendance is encouraged.
The Selection Committee will be composed of the Commissioner of Corrections, one member
selected by the Commissioner, one member selected by the Mayor, one member selected by the
Comptroller and one member selected by the President of the Board of Aldermen.
The designated contact person regarding any aspect of this Request for Proposals is Earline Bell,
Contract Compliance Officer, Division of Corrections, Belle@stlouis-mo.gov. No contact with
any other committee member is permitted. All contacts and questions must be submitted in
writing to this designated contact person, who will respond in writing to each contact and/or
question. The Division shall maintain a list of all entities requesting copies of the Request for
proposals and shall ensure that copies of all questions and responses thereto shall be made
available to each entity on such list.

RFP RESPONSE TIMELINE
RFP Issue Date August 31, 2026
Site Visit (Attendance Encouraged) September 21, 2026
Questions Due September 23, 2026
Responses to Questions Posted September 25, 2026
Proposals Due September 30, 2026
Anticipated Contract Signed December 1, 2026
Anticipated Contract Start Date January 1, 2027
Section 1. Purpose and Intent:
The City of St. Louis, Division of Corrections (STLDOC) is requesting proposals from experienced
vendors to provide inmate commissary services and a trust fund accounting system for inmates/detainees
held at The St. Louis City Justice Center, 200 St. Tucker, St. Louis, MO 63102. The facility has an
average daily population of approximately 800 inmates.
It is the intent of the STLDOC to partner with the Vendor providing the best value and most secure
efficient process for providing commissary and associated services.
The purpose of this RFP is to promote and ensure the fairest, most efficient means to obtain the benefits of
the most qualified, responsive, and responsible proposal. Hereinafter, organizations interested in submitting
a proposal in response to this RFP shall be referred to as "Respondents."
Issuing an RFP does not obligate the City of St. Louis to award a contract to any provider, nor is the City
of St. Louis or any of its employees or agents liable for any loss, costs, damage, or liability of whatever
nature incurred by the organizations in the preparation of proposals. Nothing in this RFP nor in any proposal
in response to this RFP is intended to be, nor should anything be construed, as an offer of engagement, nor
shall the selection of a Respondent be construed as an offer of engagement unless and until a contract is
fully negotiated and fully executed by all parties. The City retains the right to award parts of the contract to
several respondents, not to select any respondents, and/or to re-solicit proposals.
The City reserves the right to reject any and all proposals submitted and to waive any and/or all non-material
irregularities pertaining to the submission of the proposal. Additionally, any and all RFP project elements,
requirements, and schedules are subject to change and modification. The City also reserves the right to
modify, suspend, or terminate at its sole discretion any and all aspect(s) of the RFP process to obtain further
information from any and all respondents, and to waive any defects as to form or content of the RFP or any
responses by any organization/company.
Any such modification, clarification, or revision will be by addendum. All RFP addenda will be issued on
the City website. To access addenda, Respondents must locate "RFP for Temporary Security Services" at
the following address: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/procurement.cfm. It is the sole
responsibility of Respondents to be knowledgeable of all addenda related to this RFP. This RFP may be
canceled at any time and any and all proposals may be rejected, in whole or in part, when St. Louis Division
of Corrections determines it is in the best interest of the City and /or the Department. All submitted

materials will become the property of the City and will not be returned. At the discretion of the City, any
submitted documents may become open public records at any time during the selection process. Any such
documents shall become open public records at the conclusion of the selection process. Proposals and
communications exchanged in response to this RFP should be assumed to be subject to public disclosure.
By submitting a response to this RFP, each Respondent acknowledges having read this RFP in its entirety
and agrees to all terms and conditions set out in this RFP.
Respondents may submit amended proposals before the deadline for receipt. Such amended proposals must
be complete replacements for a previous submission and must be clearly identified as such in the transmittal
letter. City of St. Louis Division of Corrections will not merge, collate, or assemble the Respondent's
materials. Respondents are permitted to withdraw their submissions at any time prior to the deadline for
receipt. Respondents must submit a written withdrawal request signed by the Respondent's duly Authorized
Representative(s) addressed to the City of St. Louis Division of Corrections.
Section 2: Contact Person & Questions
If any prospective Respondent is in doubt as to the meaning of any part of the Request For
Proposal, the Respondent may, by email, submit to the Division of Corrections Contracts Compliance
Officer a written request for an interpretation no later than September 30, 2026 by 5:00 p.m. The response(s)
will be addressed via email.
Questions should be directed to: Earline Bell, Contracts Compliance Officer belle@stlouis-mo.gov
314-621-5868 ext. 2000.
No contact with other City employees regarding this RFP is permitted. Unauthorized contact regarding this
RFP may result in disqualification or rejection of a proposal.
Questions must be submitted no later than September 23, 2026. The Division of Corrections will maintain
a list of all requesting copies of the RFP and will ensure that copies of all questions and responses shall be
made available in writing to each organization/company on such list, when requested. Answers will also be
publicly posted at https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/procurement.cfm.
Questions should be asked in consecutive order, from beginning to end, following the organization of this
RFP. Each question should begin by referencing the RFP page number and section number to which it
relates. Short procedural inquiries may be accepted by telephone; however, oral explanations or instructions
given over the telephone shall not be binding upon the City of St. Louis Division of Corrections.
Respondents should not otherwise contact the Department directly, in person, by telephone, facsimile, or
by email, concerning this RFP.
Contact with the City of St. Louis Division of Corrections after the submission of proposals is limited to
status inquiries only and such inquiries are only to be directed to the above-named individual. Any further
contact or information about the RFP to the St. Louis Division of Corrections or any of its employees or
any Selection Committee Members will be considered an impermissible supplementation of the
Respondent's proposal.

Section 3. Submission & Deadline
In order for the St. Louis Division of Corrections to consider proposals, Respondent's submission must be
received by:
Date: September 30, 2026
Time: 5:00 P.M. CT
Proposals received after this deadline will not be accepted.
Section 4. Scope of Work:
The following describes the intended process of how the commissary will be ordered and
delivered, inmate accounting system specifications, hardware specifications, warranty and
maintenance, staffing requirements, invoicing and implementation requirements. All contractors
are required to attend mandatory 16 hours of training.
The Contractor will be required to provide an inmate commissary ordering and delivery solution
that meets the requirements set forth here as well as any value-added aspects that the Vendor
may propose.
Contractor is required to interface with providers of inmate phones, inmate tablets and trust
accounting software at no additional expense to the City.
Below are anticipated features of the program. Said inclusion is not meant to indicate any
limitations of the program, but is intended to provide a description of some of the more salient
components.
4.1 Commissary Services Requirements
1) Contractor shall maintain on its own premises, off-site from the City
Justice Center (CJC), a large selection of items to be made available
through the commissary program. The City shall approve all items to be
made available at CJC. Purchase and payment for inventory and stock
shall be the sole responsibility of the Contractor. At minimum, inmates
will be able to purchase goods from the commissary at least twice per
week. All sales will be made via order forms or an automated order user
interface (i.e. provided by the vendor. Said forms or automated order
interface shall show items available and their current prices. Contractor
will package and seal orders and deliver fulfilled orders within two

business days after the order is transmitted.
2) Contractor shall assume full responsibility for the actions of its
personnel who may be present at CJC. All contractor employees
accessing the facility will be approved by the City and are subject to
mandatory background check and fingerprinting. All workers are subject
to a search while in Division facilities and all equipment used to provide
services may also be searched at any time pursuant to Missouri Revised
Statutes Chapter 221 Section 221.111
3) Missouri Revised Statutes Chapter 221 Section 221.111 states:
4)
a) A person commits the offense of bringing contraband into a penal
institution without authority (1) Brings an item of contraband into a
penal institution or (2) Causes another to bring an item of contraband
into a penal institution, or (3) Places an item of contraband in such
proximity to a penal institution as to give an inmate access to the
contraband.
b) "Item of Contraband" means any of the following:
c) Alcoholic Liquor
d) Cannabis
e) Controlled Substance
f) Hypodermic syringe or hypodermic needles, or any instrument
adapted for use of controlled substances or cannabis by subcutaneous
injection.
g) Weapon means any knife, explosive, or firearms, whether loaded or
unloaded, or ammunition for any such firearm.
5) Bringing any item of contraband into a penal institution is a felony, which
is punishable by law.
6) No social media posts about our operations will be allowed by any
Contractor or their employees.
7) Contractors must provide an online care package program for family and
friends to purchase City approved gift packages and clothing items for
inmates incarcerated within Division of Corrections facilities. All items
available for purchase must be approved by the Commissioner of
Corrections.
8) Contractors must make all commissary items available for purchase in bulk
by the Division.
9) Contractors will provide booking kiosks for funds collected at intake.
10) Contractors will provide software/hardware needed to produce inmate
wristbands with pictures used for identification.
11) The contractor must be able to set up all systems and be operational within
sixty (60) days of the bid award and contract signing.
4.2 Hardware/Software Requirements

a. The City of St. Louis is in the process of implementing a lockdown Resident
Banking System. The goal is to minimize the number of vendor accounts
required for inmate fund retention. Contractors must utilize Lockdown Resident
Banking Software to deliver commissary services.
b. Contractor is required to interface with providers of IJMS, inmate phones,
inmate tablets and trust accounting software at no additional cost to CJC.
c. Contractor must provide a designated support contact trained to assist with both
commissary and current trust accounting software.
d. Contractors are required to provide an inmate wristband production system. The
wristband must display the inmate's photo (color), master number, last name
and first name, inmate booking number, inmate booking date, and inmate
barcode.
e. The Contractor must provide debit cards and all equipment needed to
release an inmate's funds onto a debit card with minimal effort. See
requirements below:
1. The system must have the capability to swipe a debit card at release using
vendor provided encrypted magnetic stripe readers and automatically load
the debit card with the inmate's balance at release. Redundant data entry
including debit card numbers, transaction amounts, or separate login for
releases is unacceptable. At no time should unencrypted credit card numbers
be transmitted or stored on the City's network.
2. Debit release cards must carry the MasterCard or Visa logo.
3. Debit release cards must be FDIC insured.
4. The service must be providing immediate access to funds.
5. Release cards must provide the ability to make both pins based and
signature-based transactions.
6. Both pin based and signature-based transactions must be free of charge
to the cardholder.
7. The release card must allow for the first ATM withdrawal to be free of
charge to the cardholder.
8. Release cards must have a toll-free customer service number located on the
card. Customer service must be accessible 24 hours every day.
9. Contractors must provide a card swipe that will allow the facility staff
to populate the debit card number on the website to reduce human error.
10. Inmates have the option to register their card with the provider upon
activation. If a report is lost, the provider can deactivate the card and send
them the remaining balance at the time of deactivation.
4.3 Commissary Delivery/ On-site Staffing

a. Contractor's Proposal must specify the number of days per week that
commissary items will be delivered to detainees. A minimum of two days is
required.
b. The contractor will deliver the commissary in a safe and secure manner.
c. The contractor must have qualified and trained staff with sufficient back up
personnel to successfully complete the contract requirements.
d. Contractor's employees will be subject to a criminal background check by the
St. Louis Division of Corrections and attend 16 hours of vendor training.
e. Contractor's employees will be required to submit written and/or emailed
reports detailing inappropriate inmate behavior.
f. Contractor's employees must communicate in writing to the Commissioner of
Corrections any relatives detained in any St. Louis Division of Corrections
facility.
g. Commissary workers shall not present any item other than commissary items
that were ordered and paid for. Neither shall they pass any item from one
inmate to another or take anything out of the facility for an inmate.
h. Contractor shall abide by the orders of St. Louis Division of Corrections
Security Staff including, but not limited to, the adherence to all division
policies and procedures.
i. Failure of Contractor's on-site staff to adhere to the St. Louis Division of
Corrections policies and procedures, or a directive from the Commissioner of
Corrections or designee at any time.
4.4 Merchandise
a. Contractors shall make available for purchase by all detainees, items including
but not limited to snacks, food stuff, hygiene items, clothing items, etc. The
Commissioner of Corrections of a designee will indicate any exceptions.
b. Contractor shall not increase any prices without written authorization from the
Commissioner of corrections or his/her designee. Authorized price increases
are effective on the first order day after the increase has been approved. All
price increase requests must be submitted to the Commissioner of Corrections
or designee with supporting invoices or documentation for review and
approval.
c. Items may be removed from the commissary list by Commissioner of
Corrections or designee at any time.
Section 5. Pricing
5.1 Bidders must include the following information at a minimum:
a. Details of billing and payment arrangements
b. Commission rate to be remitted and net sales calculations
c. Provide pricing for common commissary items listed in
Attachment 1 include the following information for each item:
Item price
Item size and packaging
d. Provide Pricing for the following items for City purchase in bulk:

T-Shirts
Bras
Underwear- male/female
Socks
Canvas tennis shoes
e. Any bottled items must have alternative product packaging.
5.2 All prices in a successful Vendor's proposal shall, except by mutual consent of the
parties, remain unchanged during the first year of any resultant contract term. Vendor shall
not increase any prices without written authorization from the Commissioner of
Corrections or designee with supporting invoices or documentation for review.
5.3 All price increase requests must be submitted to the Commissioner of Corrections or
designee with supporting invoices or documentation for review and approval.
Section 6. Method of Compensation
Any agreement entered into pursuant to this RFP will provide compensation on a monthly
basis.
Invoices for payment shall be submitted to the Division of Corrections. Invoices no later
than the fifteenth day of the month following completion of the service.
Payment shall be conditioned upon receipt of appropriate, accurate, and acceptable
invoices submitted in a timely manner with supporting documentation as required by the
Division of Corrections.
Section 7. Required Proposal Contents
The following documents are required in the following order with the application:
7.1 Provide a cover page which lists your organization's legal name, address, contact person
name and title, contact person phone number, email, and FID/EIN number, if applicable. If a
fiscal agent is used, please include information for both organizations.
7.2 Commissary Operating Plan - Please provide a narrative based on services required in
Section 4 of this RFP. The City of St. Louis, Division of Corrections, is looking for innovative
ways to increase efficiency in delivery of commissary services, therefore all options and ideas,
not just those set forth in this document.

7.3 Pricing - please provide the required information detailed in Section 5.
7.4 Transmittal Letter: The proposer shall provide a transmittal letter signed by an authorized agent of
the proposer. The letter must briefly summarize the proposer's ability and willingness to perform the
services required by the RFP.
7.5 Organization Information, Background, and Capability: Provide a more thorough description of your
organization, its contact information, and the services it is qualified to provide to the City of St. Louis.
Describe the organization's strengths, capabilities and experience in performing these services.
7.6 Key Personnel: Provide the name, title, telephone number and e-mail address of the persons who will
function as the primary contact and back-up contact person. Provide brief resumes/qualifications of
personnel who will be primarily involved in this project.
7.7 Proposed Fee Schedule: Include details regarding the proposed fees
expected for the services listed in the scope of work.
7.8 Verification of License/Taxes: In this section, respondents must affirmatively verify that the
organization or company has a current business license with the City of St. Louis and is currently with tax
remittance.
Section 8. Proposal Evaluation
The evaluation of proposals will be performed by a Selection Committee composed of
representatives of the Mayor's Office, Comptroller's Office, the Aldermanic President's Office,
and the Division of Corrections, in accordance with the guidelines established by Ordinance No.
64102 and the Regulations established by the Board of Public Service.
The Selection Committee will consider, at a minimum, the following, as related to the selection of
organizations qualified to perform the services requested above:
A. Specialized experience, qualifications and technical competence of the organization, its
principals, project manager and key staff;
B. Ability of the organization to provide innovative solutions;
C. Approach to the project and any unusual problems anticipated;
D. The capacity and capability of the organization to perform the work within the time
limitations;
E. Past record and performance of the organization with respect to schedule compliance, cost
control, and quality of work;
F. Proximity of the organization to the City;

G. Fees and fee structure as may be appropriate for the service to be provided;
H. Availability of financial and operating resources as required to complete the work;
I. M/WBE and/or DBE participation if required by ordinance;
J. Ability of the organization to meet statutory or ordinance requirements;
K. Other relevant criteria may be developed by the Division of Corrections or the Selection
Committee with regards to future proposal requirements. Once such relevant, though not
determinative, consideration will be the organization's commitment to the City of St.
Louis.
The Division of Corrections reserves the right to interview, or call for a presentation from, any
Respondent submitting a response. The Division of Corrections also reserves the right to discuss
the proposals with any or all Respondents. The Division of Corrections may request additional
submission of information during the negotiations of the contract.
Section 9. Standard Contract Terms & Miscellaneous Requirements
Any contract entered into pursuant to this RFP shall require the inclusion of the following, or
substantially similar, term. By submitting qualifications in response to this RFP, Respondents agree to
adhere to such terms:
9.1 Taxes and Licenses: The Vendor will be responsible for collection and payment of all required taxes
(Local, State, Federal) relating to its performance under any agreement resulting from this RFP. Prior to
the execution of any contract by the City, the Vendor must have a current St. Louis City Business License
and must be current on their City taxes.
The Vendor may check with the following to ensure compliance:
Collector of Revenue: Rooms-106-111 City Hall, 314-622-4111
License Collector: Room 104 City Hall, 314-622-4528
9.3 Recordkeeping & Audits
Contractor shall provide City monthly written programmatic updates in the manner prescribed by the
Division of Corrections, or his or her designee. The contractor shall maintain adequate records to establish
that the funds provided herein are expended on eligible costs. All records and documentation shall be made
available to City and/or authorized agents to the extent necessary to adequately permit evaluation and
verification of Contractor's full compliance with contract documents. In those situations where Contractor's
records have been generated from computerized data or records, in addition to hard copy (reports),
Contractor shall provide such information on disk or in a suitable alternative electronic format. Financial
records, supporting documentation, statistical records, and all other records pertinent to this contract's
activities shall be retained by Contractor for a period of at least five (5) years from the date of final payment
under this contract and for any longer period, if any, required by local, state or federal agencies. Contractor
shall maintain such records and accounts, including property, personnel and financial records, as are
deemed necessary to assure a proper accounting of all contract funds. Upon request by City, Contractor
shall allow City to monitor the services provided by Contractor through site visits during normal business
hours. The contractor shall make all records available for inspection by representatives of the City during
normal business hours.