2026-032 RFP Senior and Family Caregiver Nutrition Services

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
KITSAP COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
RFP# 2026-032
Project Title: Senior & Family Caregiver Nutrition Services
Estimated Contract Period: January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2027.
Amendments extending the period of performance, if
any, shall be at the sole discretion of Kitsap County.
Letter of Intent Due Date: By 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time, on Friday, September 30,
2026
Proposal Due Date: Proposals must arrive by 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Wednesday, October 14, 2026.
Proposal Response Deadline: October 14, 2026 at 3:00 PM
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SECTION A. SUMMARY OF PROJECT
1. Background:
In 1981, Kitsap County Division of Aging and Long Term Care (ALTC) was
designated as the local Area Agency on Aging (AAA). AAAs are responsible for
planning, coordinating and advocating for the development of a comprehensive
service delivery system that includes a variety of services to meet the needs of
older persons and individuals with disabilities.
* The Division is under the authority of the Human Services Department.
The intent of the request for proposals is to identify a qualified subcontractor to
administer and provide all services for the Senior and Family Caregiver Nutrition
Services program throughout Kitsap County, which includes;
* Senior Congregate Nutrition/Community Dining Sites, including alternative
"grab and go" meals
* Home Delivered Meals and expansion services,
* Liquid Supplement Meals,
* Medicaid Waivered Services, including Medicaid Transformation
Demonstration programs
* Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program
* Expanded Senior Nutrition (State funding)
Senior Nutrition services are to be provided to persons aged sixty (60) years or
over who reside in Kitsap County. All services funded by Federal Older Americans
Act, (Title 42, Section 3026 of Public Law 109-365) as amended, require
subcontractors to "give particular attention to low-income older individuals,
including low-income minority older individuals, older individuals with limited
English proficiency, and older individuals residing in rural areas." Greatest
economic need is defined as being at or below the Federal Poverty Level.
Services are not targeted to seniors living in residential care facilities.
Family Caregiver Support and Medicaid-funded home delivered meals through
Community Options Program Entry System (COPES), Community First Choice
(CFC), Medicaid Alternative Care (MAC) and Tailored Supports for Older Adults
(TSOA) are provided to individuals determined eligible prior to referral to the
subcontractor. Services are authorized by case managers and reimbursement is
claimed through DSHS ProviderOne. This program provides much more than just
food, it provides a nutritious meal and an in-person contact to monitor general
well-being and safety. And for family caregivers, the program also provides a
break.
2. Goal:
The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Home
and Community Living Connection Administration (HCLA) requires each Area
Agency on Aging (AAA) to provide nutrition services.
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The Kitsap County Division of Aging and Long Term Care (ALTC), as the local
AAA, establishes the criteria and subcontracts for nutrition services January 1-
December 31, 2027.
The goal is to subcontract a nutrition services provider. The expectation is that the
subcontractor provides approximately (on an annual basis):
* 25,000 congregate community meals or, as approved during a public
health emergency, alternative "grab and go" at community dining sites
throughout various locations in Kitsap County;
* 45,000 home delivered meals (hot or frozen and additional Ensure liquid
nutrition supplements). Meals will be provided for Older Adults 60+,
Medicaid-funded services clients, and Family Caregiver Support Program
clients.
Liquid nutrition supplements will be provided to eligible home
delivered meal clients with physician's orders to eligible persons
aged sixty (60) years of age or older;
* 150 hours of nutrition education and dietary counseling for 300 program
participants;
* 900 eligible seniors with up to $80 in vouchers to access fresh produce
through the Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program
*These numbers are projections.
Subcontracting for services includes procuring a service provider, entering into a
contractual relationship, receiving invoices and reimbursing for service delivery,
assessing the quality of the service provider's agency and fiscal management, as
well as the quality and efficacy of the services provided.
3. Minimum Qualifications:
Local governments, for-profit and non-profit agencies serving Kitsap County are
eligible to apply.
Business requirements:
* Applicant must demonstrate at least three (3) years' experience in
providing the identified services.
* Applicant must have a current Washington State Business License or an
explanation of why the agency is exempt from registering the business with
the state of Washington.
* Owners, managing employees, and anyone with a controlling interest
(board of directors) of the agency have not been convicted of a criminal
offense related to that person's involvement in any program under
Medicare, Medicaid, or Title XVII, XIX, or XX, nor have they been placed
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on a Federal exclusion list or otherwise suspended or debarred from
participation in these programs.
* Applicant must have no multiple cases of lost litigation related to service
provision to medically frail and/or functionally disabled persons.
* Current staff, including those with unsupervised access to clients and those
with a controlling interest in the organization, must have no findings of
abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment nor has the agency had any
government issued license revoked or denied related to the care of
medically frail and/or functionally disabled persons suspended or revoked
in any state.
* All employees, volunteers, and subcontractors who may have
unsupervised contact with vulnerable adults have passed a criminal history
background check, which must be conducted every two years and kept in
personnel or subcontractor files. The criminal history background check
must at least include Washington State Patrol criminal conviction records.
* Applicant staff and volunteers must be trained in safe food handling
practices, emergency procedures, and receive general orientation and
regular in-service training. These individuals will also provide a face to
face contact with home delivered meals program participants to monitor
their general well-being and safety.
* Applicant must comply with Chapter 246-215 WAC rules for Food Service
promulgated by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and
with all local board of health regulations for food service establishments,
and Older American's Act Title III home delivered nutritional program
standards.
Program and staff minimum requirements:
* Home Delivered Meals providers must have a staffing pattern that includes
a Nutrition Program Director, Registered Dietician in Washington State or
"Individual with Comparable Expertise", and other personnel as defined in
the Washington State Senior Nutrition Standards.
* If any services are subcontracted all subcontractors must be identified. All
subcontractors must be approved by Kitsap Aging and Long Term Care
(ALTC) prior to contracting. Determination of eligibility to participate in the
Request for Proposal process does not indicate approval of subcontractors.
* Applicant has demonstrated capacity to ensure adequate administrative
and accounting procedures and controls necessary to safeguard all funds
that may be awarded, determined through evaluation of the agency's most
recent audit report and the annual operating budget.
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* Applicant currently has, or intends to obtain by contract start date, a staffed
office located in Kitsap County (which can be owned, leased, rented, or
donated space); and a telephone number with a local area code and/or a
toll free number.
* Congregate and Home Delivered Meal facilities must meet Department of
Social and Health Services Senior Nutrition Program Standards. Food
preparation facilities must be equipped and eligible for a permanent food
permit issued by the Kitsap County Public Health District.
* Applicant must require employees and volunteers who will drive to perform
services to maintain a valid Washington State Driver's license in good
standing and meet insurance requirements.
* Applicant must be able to provide services throughout Kitsap County.
* Applicant must have the ability to meet current and future infectious
disease safety requirements.
Other requirements:
* Applicant can demonstrate a capability to meet program expenses in
advance of reimbursement, determined through evaluation of the agency's
most recent audit report.
* Applicant can demonstrate the ability to meet match requirements. All
Older Americans Act funded programs are required to provide a fifteen
(15) percent non-federal match toward the total program cost. The match
may be in the form of cash or in-kind contributions. However, participant
donations may not be counted towards the match.
* Applicant must have capacity for accurate tracking of contract-related
activities, and reporting of demographics, outcomes, expenditures,
number of events, and individuals served, and other required reports
outlined in Exhibit A Sample Contract.
* Applicant must meet all program and agency requirements outlined in this
Request for Proposal.
* Applicant must meet additional Kitsap County contract requirements,
reference Exhibit A Sample Contract.
Responders who do not meet these minimum qualifications or fail to submit a
Letter of Intent shall be deemed unresponsive, will not be evaluated and no score
will be assigned.
4. Scope:
The subcontractor must be able to provide the following:
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A. Congregate Nutrition to Senior Community Dining Sites:
Congregate Nutrition Services provide hot, pre-plated meals, at meal sites in
Kitsap County to individuals aged 60 and over and other individuals who meet the
eligibility requirements in the Washington State Department of Social and Health
Services Senior Nutrition Program Standards.
Congregate Nutrition Services (CNS) are offered in a variety of settings, such as
senior and community centers, churches, senior housing, and adult day care
facilities. In these settings, participants are given the opportunity to interact in a
social environment while increasing the nutrient intake for participants who might
not otherwise eat adequately.
Menus must be approved by a Washinton state Registered Dietician or individual
with comparable expertise per standards and must contain one-third of the
recommended dietary allowances (RDA) as established by the Food and Nutrition
Board of the National Academy of Sciences.
Applicants must agree to provide and maintain a network of congregate
community dining sites that provides nutrition services, including alternative meals
when required, throughout Kitsap County.
General Compliance for Congregate Nutrition:
The services specified in any contract awarded shall be provided in accordance
with:
* Federal Older Americans Act, as amended Public Law 114-144, Enacted
April 19, 2016.
* Washington State Senior Nutrition Program Standards issued by
Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS)
Home and Community Living Connections Administration (HCLA) in Home
and Community Services Management Bulletins.
* WAC 246-217 et seq and RCW 43.20.050 regarding State Board of Health
food service standards and practices.
B. Home Delivered Meals:
Home Delivered Meal service delivers nutritious frozen, hot, or shelf-stable meals
to the residences of elderly persons aged sixty (60) years of age and older who
are homebound by reason of illness or incapacitating disability. Services may
also include liquid nutrition supplement meals provided to eligible home delivered
meal clients with physician's orders to eligible persons aged sixty (60) years of
age or older.
Home Delivered Meal service includes an initial assessment of the older person
within the first two (2) weeks of service (provided by Aging and Long Term Care),
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and subsequent annual reassessments (provided by subcontractor) to verify the
person's inability to leave home without assistance, and to determine the type of
meals, number of meals, frequency of delivery and estimated length of service.
Programs authorizing home delivered meals also include Family Caregiver
Support Program and Medicaid Services including Medicaid Alternative Care,
Tailored Supports for Older Adults, and Community Options Program Entry
System.
Menus must be approved by a Washington state Registered Dietician, and meals
must contain one-third of the recommended dietary allowances (RDA) as
established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of
Sciences.
General Compliance for Home Delivered Meals Services
The services specified in any contract awarded shall be provided in accordance
with:
* Federal Older Americans Act as amended Public Law 114-144, Enacted
April 19, 2016;
* Washington State Senior Nutrition Program Standards issued by
Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS)
Home and Community Living Connections Administration (HCLA) in Home
and Community Services Management Bulletins.
* WAC 388-106-0300 through 0335 regarding the provision of COPES
services;
* WAC 246-217 et seq and RCW 43.20.050 regarding State Board of Health
food service standards and practices.
C. Nutrition Education and Consultation Services
The subcontractor's Registered Dietician Nutritionist or individual with comparable
expertise will be required to provide nutrition consultation and education,
nutrition/diabetes risk assessments for program clients, and verify that meals
contain one-third of the recommended dietary allowances (RDA) as established
by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences.
D. Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program
The Contractor shall operate a Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program in
accordance with the Purpose, Service Delivery, Requirements and Definitions
sections, as described in the contract statement of work and as required by DSHS
HCLA.
The Senior Farmer's Market Nutrition Program provides fresh, nutritious,
unprepared, locally grown fruits, vegetables, and herbs from farmers' markets,
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roadside stands and community supported agriculture programs to low-income
seniors while developing and expanding local area farmers' markets, roadside
stands, and community supported agriculture programs.
Services shall be delivered through one or more of the following models:
1. The Contractor will purchase/collect donated local produce and deliver it,
through the existing home-delivered meals program, to the homes of frail,
homebound seniors;
2. Farmers or volunteers will deliver local produce to congregate meal sites,
and/or low-income senior housing buildings for pick-up by eligible seniors;
and
3. Seniors will purchase produce directly from farmers' markets or roadside
stands using assigned debit cards they have received from the Senior
Farmers Market Nutrition Program.
Foods shall be purchased from a farmer, farmers' market, roadside stand, or
Community Supported Agriculture program only if they meet the criteria stated by
the Washington State DSHS HCLA.
The Contractor shall coordinate service development and service delivery with
the County, the local farmers' market association(s) and other interested parties
as may be identified during the operation of the program. Only approved forms
shall be used to authorize farmers and farmers' markets for check redemption.
Demographics, services provided, and outcomes will be collected and reported
monthly.
A satisfaction survey collecting participant feedback will be required annually.
5. Letter of Intent:
To be an applicant for this Request for Proposals, the applicant must submit a Letter of
Intent no later than September 30, 2026, stating the intention to submit a proposal in
response to this Request for Proposals.
The Letter of Intent must include a summary of the applicant's qualifications and
experience in providing the types of services outlined in the scope for this Request for
Proposal.
If only one qualified applicant submits a Letter of Intent, Kitsap County reserves the right
to substitute the proposal and review process with a sole-source contract process. In
this event, the sole bidder will be contacted to initiate the sole-source contract process.
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SECTION B. PROCUREMENT PROCESS
1. Procurement Schedule
The Procurement Schedule outlines the tentative schedule for important action
dates and times. All dates after the proposal submission due date are
approximate and may be adjusted as conditions indicate, without amending this
document. It is the Responder's sole responsibility to periodically check the
County's website for amendments to this document.
Figure 1. PROCUREMENT SCHEDULE
Item Action Date
1. Kitsap County Issues Letter to Request Proposals September 11, 2026
2. Proposer may submit written questions and comments September 18, 2026
until 3 p.m. Pacific Time
3. Kitsap County will Issue responses. September 23, 2026
4. Letter of Intent is due by 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time September 30, 2026
5. Responder must submit Proposal by 3:00 p.m. Pacific October 14, 2026
Time
5. Kitsap County evaluation of Proposals October 16, 2026
6. Announce successful Proposal October 30, 2026
7. Contract Execution December 15, 2026
2. Contract
Kitsap County intends to award one contract to provide the services described in
this Letter to Request Proposals up to an estimated $592,100. However,
depending upon the outcome of the evaluation, the County reserves the right to
contract with more than one Responder. The contract award amount may change
dependent upon funding availability.
The contract start date is expected to be January 1, 2027 but the actual start date
of the activities will be negotiated.
The term of the Contract is expected to last through December 31, 2027.
Amendments extending the period of performance through December 31, 2030
shall be at the sole discretion of the County.
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3. Proprietary information/public disclosure
Materials submitted in response to this Letter to Request Proposals shall become
the property of Kitsap County and the proposals shall be deemed public records
as defined by RCW 42.56.
The Responder's Proposal must include a statement identifying the pages of its
Proposal, if any, which contain information the Responder considers proprietary.
Each page claimed to be proprietary must be clearly marked by printing the word
"Proprietary" on the lower right hand corner. Responders may not mark their
entire Proposal proprietary.
If Kitsap County receives a request to view or copy a Responder's Proposal, the
County will respond according to applicable law and policy governing public
disclosure. The County will not disclose any information marked "Proprietary" in a
Proposal without giving the Responder ten (10) days' notice to seek a relief in
superior court per RCW 42.56.540.
4. Communications
All communications concerning this Letter to Request Proposals must be
directed only to the Procurement Coordinator. Any communication directed to
Kitsap County staff or consultants, other than the Procurement Coordinator, may
result in disqualification. Proposals should be based on the material contained in
this Letter to Request Proposals, any related amendment(s), and any questions
and answers directed through the Procurement Coordinator.
5. Questions and Answers
Proposer's may e-mail or mail written questions to the Procurement Coordinator.
Questions will be accepted until the date set forth in the Procurement Schedule.
Early submission of questions is encouraged. Questions and answers will be
posted on the Kitsap County website by amendment. Proposers may only rely on
written statements issued by the Procurement Coordinator. Any oral
communications are unofficial and are not binding on Kitsap County.
6. Amendments
Kitsap County reserves the right, at any time before execution of a contract, to
amend all, or a portion, of this Letter to Request Proposals. Amendments will be
posted on the County website. If there is any conflict between amendments or
between an amendment and this document, whichever document was issued last
in time shall be controlling.
7. Retraction of this Letter to Request Proposals
Kitsap County reserves the right to retract this Letter to Request Proposals in
whole, or in part, at any time without penalty.
8. Submission of Proposals
The Letter of Intent and proposals must be prepared and submitted no later than
the submission date and time specified in the Procurement Schedule. The
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