26/27 School Years Food Service Combined

Location:	Connecticut
Posted:	Jul 1, 2026
Due:	Jul 23, 2026
Agency:	Town of Mansfield
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	S - Utilities and Training Services
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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Mansfield Public Schools & Region 19 Food Service:

“Field toTray”

Request For Proposal (RFP)

26/27 School Years Food Service Combined

(Dairy/Milk, Produce, Prime, Paper)

Submission Deadline: July 23, 2026

Submitted to: foodserve@mansfieldct.org (via email)

Submission Contact:

Food Service Director

Maraiah Popeleski-Tilley, RDN

popeleskitilleym@mansfieldct.org

Introduction:

The Mansfield Public Schools (MPS) consists of two schools, one elementary Pre-K through 4th

and one middle school serving 5th through 8th grade students. The district consists of

approximately 1,000 students. MPS has an interschool agreement to provide food services to

Region 19 ( called E.O. Smith High School). E.O. Smith HS is a regional high school located in

Storrs, CT on the campus of the University of Connecticut. The school serves about 1,100

students in grades 9 through 12 from several surrounding towns including Mansfield, Ashford,

Willington, Windham & Columbia. Additionally the school is a Vocational Agriculture choice

school and has an alternative high school (Depot Campus) and a post graduation skill

development program for students aged 18 to 22 years. (STAAR)

The successful vendors will be awarded contracts to provide the services as described in this

RFP for a period of one year (subject to annual appropriations as provided in the Contract), with

potential option(s) to renew for four additional one year periods, at the District’s sole discretion.

The district will consider each category in this RFP as a separate award and will award each

category to those vendors who will provide the best value to the district.

Mansfield Public Schools is seeking proposals from vendors to provide Milk, Produce, Paper

and/or Prime services for use in the three school kitchens that provide breakfast and lunch

through the USDA National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.

Mansfield Public Schools manages a self-operated Food Services (FS) Department with an

interschool agreement with Region 19 High school. The two districts are independent in many

ways, but collaborate on the food and nutrition program and policies.

Each of the three schools has a full commercial kitchen with walk-in freezers and refrigerators,

and a variety of equipment that enables the food service team to create many meals from

scratch. For SY 29/27 all three schools will be offering bulk milk at lunch meals. Sustainability

and quality are top priorities of the program. It is the goal of the department to continue to

increase scratch cooking and serve wholesome, delicious meals to our students and staff. The

program serves about 1400 meals daily.

Each school has convenient delivery areas.

Communication & Timeline:

RFP Contact: Maraiah Popeleski-Tilley, RDN Food Service Director

Email: Foodserve@mansfieldct.org

Maraiah Popeleski-Tilley is the sole point of contact for communication concerning this RFP.

As email delivery issues can occur from time to time, the District strongly recommends that

vendors request confirmation of receipt.

Communication:

All communication is limited to the RFP Contact unless a delegation naming an additional

contact has been provided in writing.

● There should be NO communication with any district staff or consultants regarding this

RFP.

● Activities, communication, and contact after the RFP has been issued with anyone other

than the RFP Contact may be considered consulting activities and could disqualify you

from submitting a proposal for that school.

● If contacted directly by any district staff or consultants you should direct them to the RFP

Contact to make the inquiry on their behalf.

● Telephone or in-person inquiries shall not be accepted. Vendors shall not contact District

staff directly via email with questions and may not rely on any verbal statements by

District staff that alter any specification or other term or condition of the RFP.

This RFP may be modified only in writing and signed by the Food Service Director or designee.

Schedule of activities and timeline:

ACTIVITY

DESCRIPTION

Issue RFP

Post and email to vendors

Inquires

Email only

Proposal Submission

Deadline

Email submission only

Evaluation

By director and team

Award

Announced

DATE

7/1/2026

7/1/2026 to 7/23/2026

7/23/2026 by 2pm

7/23/2026 to 7/28/2026

No later than 7/30/2026

Requirements- All Vendors and Food Categories

This section applies to all food categories and is a requirement of all vendors who propose on

this RFP. The requirements of this RFP has been broken out into several sections:

General Requirements – This section applies to all food categories and vendors

● Dairy (Milk)

● Produce

● Prime Vendor

● Paper/disposable kitchen supplies

Corporate capability and experience will be evaluated based on performance record, years in

the industry, relevant experience, number of School Food Authorities served, and client

retention and satisfaction.

Please note if there are conflicts between the requirements in this section and the requirements

for a specific food category, the requirements in the food category requirements will take

precedence.

Each food category will describe the pricing structure required by the district.

Delivery Requirements:

All shipments shall be delivered separately to each school location:

1. Mansfield Elementary School 134 Warrenville Rd, Mansfield Center, CT 06250

2. Mansfield Middle School 205 Spring Hill Rd, Storrs, CT 06268

3. E.O. Smith High School 1235 Storrs, Road, Storrs, CT 06268

The Vendor shall deliver items in conjunction with this proposal to the schools during weekdays

between the times listed below, after hours may be available occasionally upon request.

EO Smith High School: 7:30 AM and 10:00 AM and from 12 NOON to 2:00 PM

Mansfield Elementary School: 7:00 AM and 11:00 AM

Mansfield Middle School: 6:30 AM and 9:30 AM

Specific delivery schedules will be mutually established after the award of the contract.

Deliveries will continue through the school year on a weekly basis from mid to late August

until about mid June.

Delivery for summer school and catering may continue weekly or occasionally through June,

July & August.

Holidays & Professional Development days:

Delivery schedules may change several times throughout the year when the District is closed

due to breaks, holidays or other closings for professional development

Refrigerated & Frozen Deliveries:

All deliveries shall be made in accordance with good commercial practice in clean containers

and clean refrigerated trucks and shall be adhered to by the successful Vendor.

Refrigerated products shall be delivered at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or less, and frozen products

shall be delivered completely frozen at zero degrees Fahrenheit or less.

Product(s) exceeding allowable temperatures or displaying evidence of temperature shock,

thawing and/or refreezing, will be rejected and replacement expected in a timely manner.

Packing slip/ Delivery Ticket:

The Vendor shall enclose a complete packing slip, delivery ticket, and invoice with any items to

be delivered in conjunction with this proposal.

The packing slip shall be separate from, but accompany the shipping cartons/containers, which

contain the items and shall be made available to MPS authorized representatives during

delivery.

The packing slip or delivery ticket shall include, at a minimum, the following information:

customer name; date of order; date of delivery; a complete listing of items being delivered with

product item number, units, price per unit, and extended price. The MPS receiving

representative has the authority to reject shipments that do not conform to this requirement.

All deliveries must be accompanied by an invoice showing proper quantities and prices.

Deficiencies, Defects, and/or Damages to Products shall be corrected by Vendor:

The successful Vendor shall promptly correct all deficiencies, defects and/or damages in

products delivered to MPS in accordance with this proposal. All corrections shall be made within

a maximum of two (2) calendar days after such deficiencies, defects and/or damages are

reported, verbally or via email, to the Vendor by the FS Department.

The Vendor shall be responsible for filing, processing and collecting all damage claims against

the shipper when applicable.

Credits and Refusal of Product:

MPS reserves the right to refuse goods at time of delivery if quality is deemed unacceptable

based on the judgment of receiving staff. Refused products at time of delivery will be credited on

the invoice and signed for by the driver and staff person receiving goods.

Credits for Products Post Delivery:

Damaged or substandard product discovered after time of delivery will be reported to the

Vendor as soon as discovered for credit and immediate product replacement if needed.

Emergency School Closure

The Vendor is responsible for monitoring the status of school closures on the local news and to

contacting MPS to arrange delivery schedule adjustments when necessary so that MPS

receives product as per agreement.

This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.

Bid Title:	26/27 School Years Food Service Combined
Category:	Facilities Management
Status:	Open

26/27 School Years Food Service Combined

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See also