§226.22. Procurement standards. — Inbound Citations

(a) Any institution may contract with a food service management company. An institution which contracts with a food service management company must remain responsible for ensuring that the food service operation conforms to its agreement with the State agency. All procurements of meals from food service management companies must adhere to the procurement standards set forth in § 226.22 and comply with the following procedures intended to prevent fraud, waste, and Program abuse:

(1) All proposed contracts shall be publicly announced at least once 14 calendar days prior to the opening of bids. The announcement shall include the time and place of the bid opening;

(2) The institution shall notify the State agency at least 14 calendar days prior to the opening of the bids of the time and place of the bid opening;

(3) The invitation to bid shall not provide for loans or any other monetary benefit or terms or conditions to be made to institutions by food service management companies;

(4) Nonfood items shall be excluded from the invitation to bid, except where such items are essential to the conduct of the food service;

(5) The invitation to bid shall not specify special meal requirements to meet ethnic or religious needs unless special requirements are necessary to meet the needs of the participants to be served;

(6) The bid shall be publicly opened;

(7) All bids totaling $50,000 or more shall be submitted to the State agency for approval before acceptance. All bids shall be submitted to the State agency for approval before accepting a bid which exceeds the lowest bid. State agencies shall respond to any request for approval within 10 working days of receipt;

(8) The institutions shall inform the State agency of the reason for selecting the food service management company chosen. State agencies may require institutions to submit copies of all bids submitted under this section.

(j) State agencies must require institutions to adhere to the procurement provisions set forth in § 226.22 and must determine that all meal procurements with food service management companies are in conformance with bid and contractual requirements of § 226.22.