RFP - Food Services Worth County Jail

Request For Proposal

FOOD SERVICE PROVIDER FOR WORTH COUNTY JAIL

Release Date: July 15, 2026

Due Date: August 17, 2026 2:00 p.m.

Worth County Sheriff's Office

201 N Main Street

Sylvester, Ga 31791

Sheriff Don Whitaker

229-776-8211

Worth County Board of Commissioners

July 15, 2026

Request For Proposals

Food Services for Worth County Jail

Sealed proposals will be accepted at the Worth County Board of Commissioners Office until August 17, 2026, at 2 p.m. at which time the proposals will be publicly opened and read aloud. Proposals must be in a sealed envelope plainly marked "Sealed Proposal-Food Service for Worth County Jail" and addressed to the County Clerk, Angela Harrah at 201 N. Main St., Suite 30 Sylvester, Ga 31791. Proposals will not be accepted after the called time.

Questions may be directed to Sheriff Don Whitaker 229-776-8211

The County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals when it is determined that the rejection of one or more of the proposals is in the best interest of the County. It is the policy of the County to promote equal opportunity regardless of race, color, religion, sex, familiar status, handicap, or national origin.

Thank you for your interest in doing business with Worth County.

The Worth County Jail is seeking quotes for a Food Service Provider for the new Jail facility which has an expected completion date of September 2026. The Facility is located at 310 S. Isabella Street; Sylvester, Ga 31791. This facility average population is 90-100 with a maximum capacity will be 160 inmates and will have a large, fully equipped kitchen. The following are specifications that the Worth County Jail will expect from any Food Service Provider seeking to submit a proposal. SEALED proposals are due by August 17, 2026 by 2:00 p.m. Please submit One (1) Original and Five (5) Copies and Flash Drive

Proposals should be submitted to:

Worth County Clerk, Angela Harrah

201 N Main Street, Suite 30

Sylvester, Ga 31791

Questions concerning this Request for Proposals should be directed via email Sheriff Don Whitaker, no later than Monday, July 27, 2026, by 10:00 a.m.

Mandatory Pre-bid Tour: Friday, July 24, 2026, at 10:00am

The awarding authority for the contract is the Worth County Board of Commissioners.

The initial contract term shall be one (1) year, commencing on the date services begin upon the opening of the new Worth County Detention Facility. Because the facility's opening is dependent upon construction completion, licensing, and operational readiness, the County reserves the right to modify the service commencement date as necessary. The successful proposer will receive written notice of the official start date at least thirty (30) to sixty (60) days prior to the required operational start date, unless otherwise mutually agreed upon by the parties. Upon successful performance and mutual written agreement of the Worth County Sheriff and the selected Comprehensive Correctional Healthcare Provider, the contract may be renewed for up to two (2) additional one-year terms.

This contract can be terminated by either party with a 90-day written notice.

PROPOSER'S COMPANY NAME _________________________________________

NAME OF PROPOSER'S CONTACT _______________________________________

PROPERSER'S ADDRESS: _______________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

PROPOSER'S PHONE NUMBER _________________________________________

PROPROSER'S EMAIL ___________________________________________

Specifications and Requirements

1. Employees of the Food Service Provider will be expected to complete a background clearance by the Worth County Jail prior to beginning work at the facility. Any worker provided by the Food Service Provider will be required to comply with the jail policy and procedures. In the event that the food service provider becomes aware of any incident or the suspicion of any event that may affect the safety and security of the jail, the food service provider must report this immediately to the Jail Administrator or his designee.

2. The Food Service Provider must provide a properly trained Food Service Director for the jail with experience in institutional food service management and nutrition.

3. All meals will be prepared in the kitchen at the Worth County Jail.

4. The daily menu must meet all Georgia Jail Standards and the American Correctional Association Nutritional and Caloric Requirements. Food Service Provider must also provide meals for medical, religious or ethnic considerations as seen fit by both the medical and jail staff. All meals provided will be based on 2800 calories per day.

5. The daily menus shall consist of two (2) hot meals per day and one (1) cold meal. The two hot meals will be a breakfast meal and a lunch meal. The evening meal will be a cold meal. The times that these meals are to be prepared will be determined by the Food Service Provider and the Jail Administrator or his designee of the jail.

6. The Food Service Provider will be expected to provide officer meals for on duty officers at a reasonable price. The menu for these meals will be determined by the Food Service Provider and the Jail Administrator or his designee of the jail. Staff meals will be charged at a different rate that inmate meals. It will be the responsibility of the Food Service Provider to comply with all health department and all food preparation regulations and requirements.

7. Grade of Food Specifications:

The following are the minimum specifications for raw food; higher but not lower grades can be purchased. Provider will use commodities as much as possible.

* Beef, Veal and Lamb shall be of at least USDA Choice.

* Ground Beef-utility or better, not to exceed 25% fat.

* Poultry shall be of at least USDA Grade A.

* Canned fruits and vegetables shall be of at least USDA Grade C.

* Frozen fruits and vegetables shall be of at least USDA Grade B.

* Fresh produce shall be of at least USDA No. 2.

* Dairy products shall be of at least USDA Grade A.

* Eggs shall be of at least USDA Grade "A" Medium.

* Frozen fish and seafood must be a nationally distributed brand, packed under continuous government inspection, USDA Grade A.

* No mechanically separated meats

* No textured vegetable proteins

8. Inmate trustees from the Worth County Jail will be available to assist in the food preparation with supervision of the Food Service Provider.

9. There will be no Worth County Jail employees assigned to the kitchen.

10. On-site employees of the Food Service Provider must be trained by the Food Service Provider to supervise these inmates.

11. All on-site Food Service Provider employees must be approved by the Worth County Sheriff or his designee.

12. The Sheriff or his designee may also request that an employee be removed from the facility without stating cause.

14. The Food Service Provider must include all food items, food service items and janitorial/cleaning supplies

15. Employees of the Food Service Provider will not be considered to be an employee of Worth County. Workman's compensation (at least one million dollars $1,000,000) and any other insurance obligations to its employees will be the sole responsibility of the Food Service Provider.

16. General liability insurance must be maintained by the Food Service Provider throughout the entire length of any contract with Worth County. A certificate of insurance of all these required coverages must be submitted to Worth County Board of Commissioners Administration Office. The Food Service Provider must carry professional liability insurance in minimum amounts of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) per occurrence and Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000) in the aggregate annually. The Food Service Provider must carry separate general liability insurance, covering bodily injury, personal injury and property damage in the amount of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000) combined single limit.

17. At the end of a coverage period, it is the responsibility of the Food Service Provider to see that an updated certificate is sent to Worth County Sheriff's Office.

18. The Food Service Provider will keep full and accurate records of sales to include receipts; meal counts and all other records in connection with food service a minimum of five years.

19. The Food Service Provider will keep a detailed record of all inventory of food items as well as all kitchen utensils and knives. Any missing items will be immediately reported to the Jail Administrator or his designee of the jail.

20. The Food Service Provider will be expected to provide extra food/meals to the inmate trustees.

21. A Dead-Mans tray will be kept for every meal for a period of 72 hours.

22. Holiday Sprit Lifter meals will be provided by the Food Service Provider at no additional charges for a minimum of 5 meals annually. These special meals will include: Christmas, New Year's, Easter, Thanksgiving, 4th of July.

23. Special Event

The Food Service Provider may be expected to provide a meal for special events as designated by the Sheriff or his Designee and the cost of these meals will be pre-negotiated between the Sheriff and Food Service Provider at an additional cost to the Sheriff's office.

24. Information Requested

A. Four (4) Weeks of Sample Menus

B. Include a detailed description of your contingency plan in case of power outage or other disruptions

C. Number of inmate trustees required to provide service.

D. Number of Food Provider Service employees assigned to the Worth County Jail.

E. Amount of time after award of contract before start up

F. Fee Structure (per meal pricing)

25. Facilities and Equipment

Worth County seeks a food service partner capable of providing not only high-quality correctional food service operations, but also meaningful investment in kitchen

equipment modernization, operational efficiency, preventative maintenance, and

lifecycle management.

As part of its proposal, Provider shall conduct an assessment of the existing kitchen equipment and facility operations and provide recommendations for:

* Replacement of obsolete or inefficient equipment;

* Modernization of kitchen operations;

* Energy-efficient upgrades;

* Operational workflow improvements;

* Equipment lifecycle management;

* Preventative maintenance strategies.

Provider is strongly encouraged to propose capital investment initiatives and equipment replacement plans as part of the initial contract term. The proposal shall clearly identify:

* Whether equipment will be Provider-owned or County-owned;

* Estimated value of proposed capital investment;

* Proposed implementation timeline;

* Expected operational benefits;

* Maintenance responsibilities;

* Warranty coverage;

* End-of-contract ownership provisions.

All proposed equipment shall be commercial-grade and appropriate for correctional institutional use. Worth County reserves the right to approve all proposed equipment specifications prior to installation. Preference may be given to proposals that demonstrate significant investment in

modernization, equipment reliability, operational efficiency, and long-term partnership value to Worth County.

Provider shall also provide a comprehensive preventative maintenance and repair program for all food service equipment utilized during the contract term.

26. Keys and Tools

The provider is responsible for control of keys obtained from the Worth County Sheriff and the security of those areas for which the keys are given. The Provider shall be responsible for immediately reporting all facts relating to any loss of keys. No keys to any part of the Woth County Jail may be duplicated. All keys will be provided by the Worth County Jail and made available at the beginning of the shift and turned in at the end of the shift. No keys shall leave the Worth County Jail. Vendor must maintain accountability procedures for knives/tools and keys.

27. References

The Provider shall provide with its Proposal:

* Outlines of the structure of the organization and number of years in institutional food service.

* One copy of the latest published annual report for the company or satisfactory written evidence of the financial stability of the organization.

* A minimum of five (5) current food services contracts with the following information: client, contact person, address and telephone number, type and size of facility, type of food service operation, and date of original contract. Also, please include information as to the facility that is most similar to Worth County in size and population and the facility that is geographically closest to Worth County.

28. Emergency Feeding and Continuity of Operations

Provider shall maintain a written Emergency Feeding and Continuity of Operations Plan designed to ensure uninterrupted food service operations during emergency situations. The plan shall address:

Lockdowns;

Power outages;

Water outages;

Natural disasters;

Severe weather events;

Staffing shortages;

Supply chain disruptions;

Equipment failures;

Emergency inmate population increases.

Provider shall maintain the capability to provide emergency meal service for a minimum of five (5) days without normal delivery schedules if necessary.

* The Emergency Feeding Plan shall include:

* Shelf-stable emergency menus;

* Alternate food sourcing procedures;

* Emergency staffing contingencies;

* Alternate meal preparation procedures;

* Communication protocols;

* Refrigeration failure contingencies.

Provider shall provide a copy of the Emergency Feeding Plan upon request and update the plan annually. Training shall be completed prior to assignment within the detention center and annually thereafter. Provider shall maintain documentation of completed training and provide such documentation upon request.

29. Quality Assurance and Compliance Program

Provider shall provide a written Quality Assurance and Compliance Program designed to ensure operational consistency, food safety, sanitation compliance, and contractual performance. The Quality Assurance Program shall include:

Internal sanitation inspections;

Food temperature monitoring procedures;

Meal quality inspections;

Grievance tracking and response procedures;

Menu substitution tracking;

Corrective action procedures;

Staffing audits;

Inventory control procedures;

Special diet compliance monitoring.

Provider shall maintain documentation of all inspections, corrective actions, and

operational reviews and provide such records upon request. Worth County reserves the

right to conduct independent inspections and audits of Provider operations at

any time.

30. Transition and Startup Plan

Provider shall provide a detailed Transition and Startup Plan as part of its

proposal. The plan shall address:

* Staffing implementation timelines;

* Management transition procedures;

* Equipment inspections;

* Inventory transition procedures;

* Vendor coordination;

* Employee orientation and training;

* Operational startup schedules;

* Continuity of meal service during transition.

Provider shall ensure uninterrupted meal service operations throughout the transition period. The successful Provider shall coordinate closely with Worth County administration prior to commencement of services to ensure operational readiness.

31. Oral Presentations and Finalist Interviews

Worth County reserves the right to require oral presentations, interviews, facility

walkthroughs, and tasting demonstrations from selected finalists prior to contract

award.

Presentations may include:

Operational philosophy;

Staffing strategies;

Equipment modernization plans;

Emergency preparedness;

Quality assurance procedures;

Correctional experience;

Transition planning.

Failure to participate in requested presentations or interviews may result in

disqualification from consideration.