RFP 26-16 CWS Base and Seasonings

MPS CWS Culinary Bases and Seasonings 26-16
Request for Proposal (RFP) for
CWS Culinary Bases and Seasonings
RFP: 26-16
Minneapolis Public Schools - Special School District No. 1
1250 West Broadway Ave.
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55411-2533
MPS Procurement
Issued: March 16th, 2026
Submissions Due: April 20th, 2026
NOTICE: Pursuant to section 13.591 subdivision 3(b) of the Minnesota Statutes, after a
government entity has completed negotiating a contract with the selected vendor, all
data in RFP responses are public except for trade secret information as defined in
section 13.37 subdivision 1(b). A statement that submitted data are copyrighted or
otherwise protected does not prevent public access to the data.
1 Minneapolis Public Schools
1250 W. Broadway Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55411
RFX@mpls.k12.mn.us

MPS CWS Culinary Bases and Seasonings 26-16
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Overview
A. Project Objective
B. Schedule of Proposal
C. Intention to Submit Proposals
D. Submission of Written Questions
E. Changes to the RFP
F. Preparation of Proposal
G. Submission of Proposals
H. Withdrawal of Proposals
I. Evaluation and Selection Process
J. Effective Period of Proposals
K. Bid Reservations
L. Notifications of Unsuccessful Vendors
M. Contract Negotiations
N. Award of Contract
O. Contract Term
P. Disposition of, and Public Access to, Proposals
Q. Cost Incurred in Responding
R. Assignment
S. Causes for Termination
II. Scope of Services
A. Project Background
B. CWS Base and Seasonings Program Goals
C. MPS Culinary and Wellness Services Organization
D. General Description of Expected Services
E. Specific Expectation and Components to be Addressed by Response
III. Response Section - General Business Information
A. General Business Requirements
B. Qualifications and Experience
C. Supplier and Employee Equity & Diversity, Sustainability and Community Engagement
D. Business Ethics
E. Service Level Expectations
F. Fees & Costs
G. Reporting
H. Billing and Payment
I. Operational Challenge Responses
IV. Response Section - Project Scope
A. Culinary Bases and Seasonings Service
B. Wrap up to Project Scope Information
V. Appendix Requirements
A. References
B. Pricing Information
C. MPS Reports
D. Business Specific Reports
E. Service Level Expectations
2 Minneapolis Public Schools
1250 W. Broadway Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55411
RFX@mpls.k12.mn.us

MPS CWS Culinary Bases and Seasonings 26-16
VI. MPS Appendix Documents
A. Intention to Submit a Proposal
B. Organization Information Cover Sheet
C. Pricing Submission Requirements
D. Evaluation Matrix
E. MPS Sample Contract
3 Minneapolis Public Schools
1250 W. Broadway Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55411
RFX@mpls.k12.mn.us

MPS CWS Culinary Bases and Seasonings 26-16
SECTION I: OVERVIEW
A. Project Objective
Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) is seeking proposals from organizations and individuals wishing
to provide culinary Bases, Spices and Seasonings.
Minneapolis Public Schools or Special School District Number 1 (SSD #1) is a school district that is
coterminous with the City of Minneapolis, Minnesota. With authority granted by the state
legislature, the school board makes policy, selects the superintendent, and oversees the district's
budget, curriculum, personnel, and facilities. Students speak ninety different languages at home
and most school communications are printed in English, Hmong, Spanish, and Somali. The District
covers over 70 school programs at 65 sites, with approximately 28,500 students and 3,200
teaching staff.
The District intends to select one organization to provide the necessary culinary Bases, Spices
and Seasonings. To facilitate the submission and evaluation of proposals, this proposal provides
additional background information regarding MPS that will be relevant to the proposal of the
culinary Bases, Spices and Seasonings.
RFP Primary Objective 1: Gain a thorough understanding of the product capability in order to
select, implement and operate culinary Bases, Spices and Seasonings that will meet the needs of
the district for the next 4 year.
RFP Primary Objective 2: Gain a thorough understanding of the culinary Bases, Spices and
Seasonings total proposed costs. Including but not limited to: goods costs and delivery costs.
B. Schedule of Proposal
1. Issue RFP: March 16th, 2026
2. Intention to Submit: April 6th, 2026
3. Written Questions Due: April 6th, 2026
4. Responses to Questions: April 10th, 2026
5. Proposals Due: April 20th, 2026
6. Award bid - Notification: May 1st, 2026
7. District Approval June 9th, 2026
8. Implementation: July 1st, 2026
C. Mandatory Intention to Submit Proposals
In order for your organization to receive updates to this Request for Proposal, including
responses to submitted questions from all participating firms, please complete Appendix 1:
Intention to Submit a Proposal by April 6th, 2026. This document must be emailed to
RFX@mpls.k12.mn.us. This will allow the District to provide timely information to interested
parties. This document is a mandatory document, if this is not submitted in person or by email by
April 6th, 2026; the organization will not be able to participate in CWS Culinary Bases and
Seasonings RFP 26-16.
D. Submission of Written Questions
All questions about the RFP shall be submitted by e-mail by 4:00 p.m. Central Standard Time on
or before April 6th, 2026 to: RFX@mpls.k12.mn.us. The District will provide written responses to
questions from prospective Proposers no later than April 10th, 2026 EOD. After April 6th, 2026, no
questions or inquiries will be allowed. Written responses will be posted to the same online
location as the RFP.
4 Minneapolis Public Schools
1250 W. Broadway Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55411
RFX@mpls.k12.mn.us

MPS CWS Culinary Bases and Seasonings 26-16
E. Changes to the RFP
Vendors who are registered with MPS for this RFP will be notified by email of any changes in the
specifications contained in this RFP. If any changes are issued to this RFP, a good faith attempt
will be made to deliver the additional information to those persons or firms who, according to
the records of MPS, have previously received a copy of and are registered (via the Intent to
Submit form) with the District for this RFP.
F. Preparation of Proposal
1. Careful attention must be paid to all requested items contained in this Request for Proposal.
Please read the entire package before bidding. Each proposal shall be prepared simply and
economically avoiding the use of elaborate promotional materials beyond what is sufficient
to provide a complete, accurate, and reliable presentation.
2. For ease of review, the proposals must follow the outline in Section III and IV of this request
for proposal. Each response should be clearly numbered and the full question listed.
3. Each page of the proposal must be sequentially numbered and include the proposing
organization's name.
4. Proposal must be double-spaced, with at least than one-inch margins. Font must be at least
12-point. Any RFP submitted that is not double-spaced, uses margins less than 1-inch, and
smaller than 12-point font will not be reviewed. There will be no exceptions.
5. Each response to questions in Section III and IV of the proposal must be appropriately
labeled (e.g., Section III: General Business Questions, A. General Business Requirements,
Question #1; etc.).
6. The proposal narrative for Section III-IV may not exceed 20 pages total, not including
appendices. Proposals exceeding the 20 pages in Section III-IV will not be reviewed. There
will be no exceptions.
7. Some questions in this proposal will require organizations to submit documents as an
Appendix. Applicants may wish to submit additional supplemental materials to support
responses to questions in Section III and IV. If an applicant intends to include supplemental
materials with responses to questions in Sections III and IV of the proposal, separate
appendices for each part must be developed. Each appendix should be clearly labeled (e.g.,
Appendix A: References, etc.).
8. All appendix materials (e.g., sample letters, curricula, lesson plans, progress reports,
academic effectiveness data, etc.) must be labeled with the name of the organization and
reference the appropriate section and question (e.g., Section C: Description of Expected
Services 1a). Although there is no page limitation for the Appendix, the appendix should
not be excessive in length. Applicants should also ensure the appendix items are
appropriately described and referenced in the narrative section of the proposal.
9. The proposal must be submitted in the appropriate order. Each part of the proposal should
be separated with a section divider page listing the title of the next part of the proposal that
is enclosed. All proposals should follow the order below:
a. Organization Information Cover Page (Provided in attached Appendix 2)
b. Table of Contents
c. Section III- General Business Information
d. Section IV- Project Scope
e. Appendix Materials
10. Additional circumstances that may lead to proposal not being reviewed and/or selected:
a. Proposal was received after the deadline, which includes not on the deadline date
but also after the deadline time.
5 Minneapolis Public Schools
1250 W. Broadway Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55411
RFX@mpls.k12.mn.us

MPS CWS Culinary Bases and Seasonings 26-16
b. Applicant does not intend to complete criminal history checks on employees when
required.
c. Applicant's previous clients have significant complaints regarding the quality of the
Title services, communication issues, or other problems.
d. Any section of the Proposal is missing or incomplete.
e. The Proposal does not meet length, font, or other formatting requirements.
G. Submission of Proposals
In order to be considered for selection, organizations must submit a signed electronic (.pdf)
response to this solicitation no later than 2:00 p.m. on April 20th, 2026. Late proposals shall not
be accepted. Electronic copies must be submitted to: RFX@mpls.k12.mn.us
No other distribution of the proposal shall be made by the organization. It is the sole
responsibility of the organization to assure that the proposal is delivered to the designated
district office in Item H, above, prior to the deadline. No proposal received after the deadline will
be considered. No unsolicited corrected or resubmitted proposals will be accepted after the
proposal submission deadline.
H. Withdrawal of Proposals
A proposal may be withdrawn by the vendor prior to the date and time for submittal of proposals
by means of a written request signed by the vendor or its properly authorized representative.
Such written request must be delivered to RFX@mpls.k12.mn.us.
I. Evaluation and Selection Process
1. The CWS Culinary Bases and Seasonings Evaluation Committee members will include, but is
not be limited to a minimum of one member from at least two departments to be named by
the Executive Director of Culinary and Wellness Service. Potential participating committee
members from departments could include, but not be limited to:
a. Culinary and Wellness Services
b. Procurement
2. Proposals, responses, and references will be included as the Evaluation Committee
recommends a solution for the District. Upon approval from the authorized District signer on
May 1st, 2026, the District will then proceed with contract discussions with the selected
vendor(s). The District has no liability to any vendor participating in this RFP process prior to
when the authorized District signer signs a contract to that vendor.
3. Consensus on proposal selection will be determined by the Evaluation Committee reaching
consensus on the selection. The CWS Culinary Bases and Seasonings Evaluation Committee
members will use a rubric to evaluate the responses to the questions outlined in this RFP.
The rubric is provided in Appendix 4
4. The Evaluation Committee shall evaluate all proposals to determine which meet the
minimum service/product requirements, without regard to price. This evaluation may, at the
Evaluation Committee's discretion, be augmented by verbal or written requests for
clarification, or additional information as necessary to determine whether the technical
requirements can be met. The Evaluation Committee can contact references supplied in
vendor proposals. Findings from these inquiries will be included in the assessment of
products for selecting finalists.
6 Minneapolis Public Schools
1250 W. Broadway Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55411
RFX@mpls.k12.mn.us

MPS CWS Culinary Bases and Seasonings 26-16
5. The Evaluation Committee will then only consider those proposals that meet the minimum
service requirements for further evaluation. The Evaluation Committee will evaluate and
score the vendor with regard to the scoring.
J. Effective Period of Proposals
Proposals must state the period for which the proposal shall remain in effect (i.e., how much
time does the District have to accept or reject the proposal under the terms proposed). Such
period shall not be less than 120 days from the proposal submission due date.
K. Bid Reservations
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this RFP, the District reserves the right to award this
contract to the organization(s) that best meet the requirements of the RFP, and not necessarily,
to the lowest cost Proposer. Further, the District reserves the right to reject any or all bids, to
award in whole or part, and to waive minor immaterial defects in bids. The District may consider,
at its sole discretion, any alternative bid.
L. Notifications of Unsuccessful Vendors
The Evaluation Committee through the MPS Procurement Dept, shall notify all Vendors no later
than the award recommendation and approval to proceed being placed on the School Board
agenda on June 9th, 2026.
M. Contract Negotiations
Negotiations may include all aspects of services and fees. After a review of the proposals, and in-
person presentations, the District intends to enter into contract negotiations with the selected
organization(s). If a contract with the selected organization is not finalized within 90 days, the
District reserves the right to open negotiations with the next ranked organization(s).
N. Award of Contract
The District reserves the right to award by Service Area or as a whole, whichever is deemed most
advantageous to the District.
The selected firm(s) shall be required to enter into a written contract or contracts with the
District in a form approved by legal counsel for the District. This RFP and the proposal, or any
part thereof, may be incorporated into and made a part of the final contract(s). The District
reserves the right to negotiate the terms and conditions of the contract(s) with the selected
Proposer(s).
O. Contract Term
It is the intent to award the contract(s) for an initial one (1) year period with the option to renew
it for up to three (3), one-year periods for a possible total contract term of four (4) years. The
decision to renew the contract(s) will be at the sole discretion of the District and agreed upon by
both parties.
P. Disposition of and Public Access to Proposals
All materials submitted in response to this RFP will become the property of the District. Pursuant
to section 13.591 subdivision 3(b) of the Minnesota Statutes, virtually all information submitted
is considered public and may be disclosed to third parties. The exception is trade secret
information, as defined and classified in section 13.37 subdivision 1(b). Trade secret information
should not be included in a response unless absolutely necessary.
7 Minneapolis Public Schools
1250 W. Broadway Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55411
RFX@mpls.k12.mn.us

MPS CWS Culinary Bases and Seasonings 26-16
Q. Cost Incurred in Responding
This solicitation does not commit the District to pay any costs incurred in the preparation and
submission of proposals or in making necessary studies for the preparation thereof, nor to
procure or contract for services.
R. Assignment
The successful proposer shall not assign, transfer, convey, or otherwise dispose of the contract,
or right, title of interest, or power to execute such a contract to any person, firm, or corporation
without the previous consent in writing by the District.
S. Causes for Termination
Causes for termination of the agreement may include any of the following: Failure to promptly
and faithfully provide the services required at the prices indicated in the Proposal; violation of
any law governing services provided to the District; failure to cooperate upon receiving any
reasonable request for information or service; or improper actions of the officers or employees,
which in the opinion of the District, would adversely affect its interest, or endanger the structure
of the proposing organization such as a spin off or merger which materially affects the terms of
this agreement. The District may terminate the agreement without cause with a 90-day notice.
The District may terminate the agreement with cause with a 30-day notice.
8 Minneapolis Public Schools
1250 W. Broadway Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55411
RFX@mpls.k12.mn.us

MPS CWS Culinary Bases and Seasonings 26-16
SECTION II: SCOPE OF SERVICES
A. Project Background
This section begins with some background information on the Minneapolis Public School District
and then discusses the overall expectations for the CWS Culinary Bases and Seasonings, as well as
the district's specific needs. It also describes existing services and equipment that the Vendor may
wish to incorporate into its design and the issues that need to be considered.
The Minneapolis Public Schools is the fourth largest K-12 District in Minnesota. Minneapolis,
located in Hennepin County, is the largest city in the state of Minnesota, and is the 48th largest in
the United States. The District covers 70 school programs at 65 sites, with approximately 28,500
students and 3,200 teaching staff.
70 school programs include:
K-5 Schools: 19
K-8 Schools: 17
Middle Schools (6-8): 5
High Schools (9-12): 7
Special Education Schools: 2
Specialty Schools: 1
District Alternative Schools: 4
Contract Alternative Schools: 12
Growth projection: Stable
Superintendent: Dr. Lisa Sayles-Adams
Executive Director Culinary and Wellness Services (CWS): Angela Richey
Director Procurement: Christopher Boyce
B. Culinary Bases and Seasonings Product/Service Goals
Projected Yearly Value:
* $80,000
Primary Components:
The proposed CWS Culinary Bases and Seasonings must include, but not limited to, the following
components:
Reduced sodium stock and sauce bases such as chicken, vegetable, and turkey gravy
A wide variety of spices and seasonings in multiple size formats appropriate for high
volume production such as granulated garlic, chili powder and dried oregano leaf
Distribution capacity and frequency to supply the District's central operation needs
C. Culinary and Wellness Services Organization
Culinary and Wellness Services Department Structure
Department is led by Executive Director Angela Richey
Operates a central manufacturing and distribution facility supporting 70 school site
operations as well as community partners. These sites operate as either heat and serve
installations or full kitchens with scratch cooking ability.
9 Minneapolis Public Schools
1250 W. Broadway Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55411
RFX@mpls.k12.mn.us

MPS CWS Culinary Bases and Seasonings 26-16
Minneapolis Public Schools is on a mission to improve meals and snacks offered from the
perceived "traditional school lunch" of highly processed foods, to wholesome, healthy
and fresh foods
To this end the department maintains strict product requirements covering nutrition and
ingredients, an expansive Farm to School program and fosters new and innovative ideas
in the school food service field.
Operates and supports a number of different programs including NSLP, CACFP, FFVP
o Approximate Lunches Daily: 16,000
o Approximate Breakfasts Daily: 10,000
o Approximate Afterschool Snacks Daily: 5,000
o Approximate Number of FFVP servings per week: 30,000
Under Minnesota State Statute 471, the District is a member of the Minnesota School
Food Buying Group (MSFBG). Additionally, the District reserves the right to joint
purchasing under this Contract with St. Paul Public Schools.
Operates under the Buy American provision
D. General Description of Expected Services
1. MPS expects the highest level of quality, professionalism, and results from the vendor and
product and the development and implementation of services provided by them, including,
but not limited to the following:
a. Consultant shall comply with all applicable federal, state, and local statutes, laws,
ordinances, rules and regulations, including securing and maintaining in force such
permits and licenses as are required by law in connection with the furnishing of services
pursuant to this agreement.
2. MPS expects that success of the vendors' performance and product will be determined at
the sole discretion of MPS.
3. MPS expects that success of the consultant's performance and product will be determined
by both qualitative and quantitative means of data collection and analysis.
E. Specific Expectation and Components to be Addressed by Response
1. MPS CWS operates a large central manufacturing and distribution center at 812 Plymouth Ave
N, 55411. All relevant deliveries will be to this facility. The facility is equipped with receiving
docks and pit levelers to accommodate a variety of vehicles. Receiving is open most non
holidays from 5:30 am to 1 pm CST.
2. MPS is a founding member and operates according to the Ingredient Guide for Better School
Food Purchasing. (https://ingredientguide.org/) All products must follow these guidelines to
be considered acceptable for this RFP.
3. The central facility manufactures a wide variety of products using raw, scratch and speed
scratch ingredients to supply the District's students with high quality, nutritious meals.
4. A brief synopsis of highest volume products is included at the end of this section. Please
review as a guideline for expected volumes.
5. Current procurement process for this type of product consists of one large monthly
order/delivery and the occasional smaller order as needed.
6. Ordering can be Online, Email, or other acceptable written form by mutual agreement.
10 Minneapolis Public Schools
1250 W. Broadway Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55411
RFX@mpls.k12.mn.us