Skip To Main Content

Logo Image

Laurel Public Schools

Logo Title

Laurel Public Schools
Dedicated to the individual development of each student, every day, without exception

Request for Proposal for Food Service Management

Frequently Asked Questions:

  1. So that projected food service program growth is consistent, please provide actual USDA Meal Claims by school for the 25-26 School to Date claims for any meals served for National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, SFSP, and CACFP:
  2. Please provide a breakdown of student enrollment by school based on Paid / Reduced / Free status:
  3. Does the district expect an increase, decrease, or neutral change to enrollment? If so, please provide projected Student Enrollment data by school for the 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030 school years:
  4. How will the cost section be evaluated? Will the cost or financial performa evaluation be based on total cost, cost per meal, client return, or client guarantee?
    • Cost per meal
  5. If Catering or Vending programs are offered, please provide an annual revenue total for all FSMC’s to use in developing a financial outlook:
    • Laurel Public Schools does not provide a catering or vending program
  6. Please provide annual revenue for Student Ala Carte sales for all FSMCs to use in performa development:
  7. Please provide annual revenue for Adult sales for all FSMCs to use in proforma development:
  8. Please provide the exact Meal Equivalency Factor (MEQ) all FSMCs are to use in proforma development:
  9. Please provide clarification on Meal Equivalencies for Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks, and A la Carte Revenue and Dinner meals to consistent fee calculations based on meal conversions:
    • Breakfast is 1/1, Lunch is 1/1, No snacks provided. Ala Carte Revenue is $4.99.
  10. Please provide the USDA Commodity Allotment to use in proforma development for the upcoming year, as well as the allotment from last school year:
  11. Please provide the planned 2026 USDA Commodity Allotment (including any bonus food allotments) to understand what has been ordered:
  12. Please provide the projected annual increase percentage on all SFA hourly positions:
    • In the year 2026-27 all hourly positions will go up .25 an hour. I cannot say vouch for what the wages will increase in 2027 forward. Laurel Schools has a classified union and they will enter into negotiations for another 2 year contract.
  13. Please provide the current vacancy rate for Hourly Worker positions that have not been filled regularly:
    • We have no problem filling open positions. In 2024-25 we had 0% turnover and the year before it was 2%.
  14. Should the district labor be included in the rate? If so, what is the methodology for reconciling district cost and FCPM credits?
    • ​​​​​​​Please provide calculations for including our labor and another for if you were to provide labor.
  15. Does the district permit any students at any schools to eat off campus? If so, which campuses / schools and what grade levels?
    • The High School students are allowed to leave the campus during their lunch break (grades 9 - 12)
  16. Is there any current equipment from current FSMC that will be removed in the event there is a change on FSMC's?
    • ​​​​​​​Yes, they provided steam tables. We will either purchase them or they will be removed.​​​​​​​
  17. Please confirm which school sites use washable/reusable serving trays and which school sites use disposable?
    • High School is the only site that uses disposable serving trays.
  18. Regarding the SFA labor noted in Exhibit S of the RFP, do these rates include all taxes, benefits, etc? If bidders are to include SFA labor, do you want us to include all applicable taxes and benefits? Perhaps you could provide a lump sum budgeted figure that would include all wages, taxes, and benefits for bidders to use.
    • ​​​​​​​Lump sum budgeted for 2026/27would be $338,400 per year. This includes all wages and benefits.
  19. Would it be possible to share your most recent contract renewal with all interested bidders?