SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- Request For Information (RFI) SNAP Food Purchases
- Notice Date
- 1/10/2011
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541611
— Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Contract Management Branch, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 228, Alexandria, Virginia, 22302
- ZIP Code
- 22302
- Solicitation Number
- FNS-11-X11
- Point of Contact
- David P. Mugan, Phone: 7033052232, Belal Hammad, Phone: 7033052262
- E-Mail Address
-
david.mugan@fns.usda.gov, belal.hammad@fns.usda.gov
(david.mugan@fns.usda.gov, belal.hammad@fns.usda.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION NOTICE This is a Request For Information (RFI) for market research purposes only and is not a Request for Proposals (RFP). A solicitation is not being issued at this time and this notice shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach. This RFI is being published to identify industry capabilities and compare the feasibility of obtaining and analyzing nationally representative food purchase data maintained by large store chains, loyalty card companies and/or other commercial sources to determine what types of foods are purchased by participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program). The North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) Code proposed for the requirement is 541611, Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services. The size standard for NAICS 541611 is $5M. Comments on this NAICS and suggestions for alternatives must include supporting rationale. 1.0 BACKGROUND SNAP helps put food on the table for some 31 million people per month in FY 2009. It provides low-income households with electronic benefits they can use like cash at most grocery stores. SNAP is the cornerstone of the Federal food assistance programs, and provides crucial support to needy households and to those making the transition from welfare to work. The U.S. Department of Agriculture administers SNAP at the Federal level through its Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). State agencies administer the program at State and local levels, including determination of eligibility and allotments, and distribution of benefits. All 50 States have made the transition from paper coupons to the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card. The EBT card is like a debit card and can be used at USDA-authorized grocery stores across the country. At the cash register, the customer or cashier swipes the EBT card through the card reader at the point of sale and the customer enters a personal identification number to secure the transaction. The system deducts the exact dollar amount of the purchase from the customer's EBT account and deposits it into the retailer's bank account. Once the SNAP EBT transaction is complete, a receipt shows the amount of the SNAP purchase and the amount of SNAP benefits remaining in the EBT account. In June 2004, SNAP completed a transformation from paper coupons to an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card. Participants receive a plastic EBT card (similar to a bank debit card) with the dollar amount for which they are eligible each month. The Women, Infants and Children program (WIC) provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. 2.0 STUDY OBJECTIVES All available evidence indicates that the diets and food choices of most Americans are less than ideal, and that the diets and food choices of low-income individuals are most striking in their similarity rather than their differences with higher income individuals. Concern is frequently expressed that SNAP benefits are spent on unhealthy foods, however, no data exists that identifies the types of foods SNAP recipients purchase with their benefits. Therefore, this study has three objectives: 1) Identify and compare the feasibility of obtaining and analyzing food purchase data - from large store chains, loyalty card companies and other commercial sources that offer nationally representative information. 2) Obtain and examine one or more of these extant data bases to examine the proportion of SNAP benefits spent on different foods. If store sales and EBT transaction data can be linked at the household level, purchase patterns can be examined by benefit amount. 3) Explore the feasibility of obtaining and analyzing data on foods purchased by WIC clients. Information obtained from this study can inform policy, nutrition education and environmental initiatives to enhance the food choices of participants. 3.0 SUBMISSION INFORMATION FNS is seeking information on available data and on firms capable of identifying, obtaining and analyzing food purchase data - from large store chains, loyalty card companies and other commercial sources that offer nationally representative information. Descriptive and multivariate analyses on this data will be required. This data needs to identify, at a minimum down to the product category level, (fruits, vegetables, beverages, baked goods, dairy, snack foods etc.) purchased with SNAP benefits. Information on the generalizabilty of the data, as well as an indication of sample sizes, regional distribution and other data robustness indicators should be discussed. Interested firms may submit product descriptions or capability statements that demonstrate its ability to perform all elements of the requirement as described in this notice. All responses must be submitted to david.mugan@fns.usda.gov no later than 4PM Eastern Standard Time, February 15, 2011. Any information provided by industry to the Government as a result of this RFI notice is strictly voluntary. Responses will not be returned. No entitlements to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges to the Government will arise as a result of contractor submission of responses, or the Government's use of such information. The information obtained from responses to this notice may be used in the development of an acquisition strategy and future RFP.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USDA/FNS/CMB/FNS-11-X11/listing.html)
- Record
- SN02357558-W 20110112/110110234205-e05b584f9663422a61752a441dda89b0 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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