Edible Food Recovery Service Provider Pilot

The County is seeking proposals from qualified vendors to implement a fee-for-service edible food recovery pilot program in San Mateo County. The goal of this pilot is for a technology-enabled food recovery service to implem ent a fee-for-service food recovery program that incorporates work and revenue-sharing partnerships with nonprofit FROs serving the County of San Mateo. The selected contractor (“Contractor”) will: Onboard approximately ten Generators into their food recovery service including establishing a written agreement with the Generators. Provide Generators with an easy-to-use platform to schedule surplus edible food pickups, track surplus edible food volume in accordance with SB 1383’s recordkeeping requirements, and analyze diversion impacts. Identify a fee-for service schedule that outlines the fees that Generators will pay for services provided by FROs and accordingly charge and collect payments from Generators for food recovery services they receive (technology access and cost associated with surplus edible food pickups). Onboard approximately four FROs to perform surplus edible food pickups and distributions including establishing written agreements with FROs to act as subcontractors for this pilot project. Identify a fee-for-service payment schedule for FROs and accordingly distribute payments from the earned revenue from Generators to the FROs for the services they provide. The FROs the Contractor partner’s with will: Establish agreements with the Contractor to provide edible food pickup services to Generators in San Mateo County. Demonstrate that food recovery program leads hold valid food handler cards. The County can provide access to food handler card training to any food recovery program lead that does not currently hold this certification. Conduct surplus edible food pickups from generators identified by the Contractor in coordination with Contractor. Distribute surplus edible food to community members in need. Share food pickup and distribution related data with the Contractor, as needed for tracking, reporting and payment purposes. Comply with local and State law governing food safety and edible food recovery. The pilot will run from mid-October, early November, 2025 through June 30, 2028. The initial total available budget for the pilot will be $15,000. The initial $15,000 will need to be spent by November 2, 2026 unless otherwise approved by the County. This pilot is a proof-of-concept project and the budget , term, and number of Generators serviced may be expanded and/or extended depending on the success of the pilot and availability of funds. The services, terms and conditions of any Agreement that is entered into by the County as a result of this RFP may be used by other public entities as a piggyback agreement in accordance with the rules and requirements of such public entities. This clause in no way commits any other public entities to procure services from the selected proposer.