Provision of Hot Meals under the School Meals Scheme

AI-generated analysis of the documents. Check the official notice and any amendments for current submission details.

1. At a glance

2. Scope of Work

This tender seeks a contractor to provide hot meals to Rathmore National School under the Department of Social Protection's School Meals Scheme. The service will operate for 182 school days per year. The estimated contract value is €167,731.20.

The contractor will be responsible for:

• Meal Provision: Supplying hot meals prepared from raw ingredients, with a minimum of 10% organic ingredients by value where possible, in line with the "Buying Greener" strategy. This applies to categories including cereals, fresh beef, lamb, pork, poultry, fish, vegetables, and dairy products.
• Service Delivery Models: Tenderers must specify their proposed service delivery method, which can be one of the following:
• Meals Pre-Prepared Off-site and Delivered Ready to Serve.
• Meals Pre-Prepared Off-Site and Heated in the School.
• Meals Fully Prepared On-Site.
• Nutritional Standards: Meals must comply with the "Nutrition Standards for Hot School Meals" and meet specific dietary requirements including options for lactose-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, halal, and accommodating food intolerances, allergies, and religious observances.
• Ordering System: Implementing a food ordering system (app, website, email) with defined ordering and adjustment times. Imagery of the ordering system must be provided.
• Food Service and Distribution: Ensuring efficient distribution to students, individual packaging, labelling, and provision of cutlery and napkins. Imagery of individual packaging and labelling is required.
• Food Quality and Safety: Maintaining high standards of food quality, freshness, and nutritional content. This includes ensuring correct food temperatures from delivery to serving, avoiding cross-contamination, and mitigating menu fatigue.
• Contract Management: Assigning a Key Account Manager (KAM) with proven experience in similar roles. A CV for the KAM and a nominated backup KAM (max 2 A4 pages each) must be submitted.
• Complaint/Incident Management: Establishing a clear process for managing and resolving complaints and incidents, including product recalls, food contamination, customer complaints, medical incidents (food-borne illness, allergies), and food quality issues.
• Staff Resourcing: Ensuring continuous resourcing with skilled, knowledgeable, and experienced staff, including measures for ongoing training, succession planning, and replacement for leave or absence.
• Green Procurement: Implementing waste minimisation and waste management plans, focusing on food waste reduction, using environmentally friendly packaging, and reducing plastics. A sustainable purchasing policy favouring local, seasonal produce and suppliers with minimal waste is required.
• Reporting: Providing monthly status reports on key information.

The school operates 182 days per year, and the contractor must provide service on each of these days, barring exceptional circumstances.

3. Background & buyer context

Rathmore National School is procuring catering services under the Department of Social Protection's School Meals Scheme. This initiative aims to provide nutritious meals to primary school students. The procurement is being conducted as an Open Procedure, indicating it is open to all eligible economic operators. The estimated contract value falls below the €750,000 EU procurement threshold. The school is located in Rath, Baltimore, Co. Cork. The tender documents do not specify an incumbent provider.

4. Eligibility & selection criteria

Bidders must meet the following criteria to be considered:

• Turnover requirement:
• Minimum average annual turnover of €55,910.40 for each of the three (3) financial years immediately preceding the tender publication date. This requirement can be met by the combined turnover of consortium members.
• Insurance: The successful tenderer must hold the following insurances for the contract term:
• Employer's Liability: €13 million limit per claim.
• Public Liability: €6.5 million limit per claim.
• Product Liability: €6.5 million limit per claim and in aggregate.
• Professional Indemnity: €6.5 million limit per claim (only relevant for Service Delivery Models 2, 3, or 4 involving fit-out works).
• Motor Cover: Minimum €1.3 million for third-party property damage per accident.
• Crime Insurance: €100,000 per claim.
• Cyber Liability: €1 million per claim and in aggregate per policy year.
• Certifications:
• Registered as a Food Business Operator (FBO) with the HSE, local authority, or DAFM.
• Past experience:
• Demonstrate successful delivery of at least three (3) previous hot catering service contracts (public or private sector) within the last three years.
• These contracts, collectively, must have produced/delivered an average of 60% or more of the number of meals required in this tender.
• A written reference from three named referees for each contract example is required.
• Personnel:
• Key Account Manager (KAM) must hold a Food Safety/HACCP qualification and have a minimum of 2 years' experience in a similar role.
• Geographic / facility constraints:
• Not specified for this tender.

5. Award criteria & scoring

The contract will be awarded based on a combination of quality and price. The total available marks are 1,000.

Criterion Maximum Score Minimum Score Required Sub-criteria / Notes