State Purchasing Program Information
The Mississippi Department of Education and Participating local school districts Child Nutrition Programs initiated a statewide purchasing program in 1992. Bids for food and supplies under this program are issued by the Department. These bids represent manufacturers' pricing as well as institutional distributors and suppliers. Local schools need only order products from the approved bid list at a fixed price for the duration of the contract. The foods are delivered by contract distributors on a weekly basis. The actual cost of food and delivery are paid by the district to the assigned distributor. The initial delivery of products under the system was January, 1993.
The specific items on the bid are determined by the Purchasing Management Committee. The determination includes quality of product, packaging and pre-approval of brands based on student acceptability. The Purchasing Management Committee has a strong focus on the quality issues involving the items and brands which are approved. This includes testing of products with students in a school environment as well as laboratory testing. Current committee members are listed in this document
This service is self-funding from fees charged to the local entity. Costs are divided into start-up (one-time costs) and operation costs. These are then applied to the number of meals served by member districts to generate revenue to meet an annual budget approved by the Purchasing Management Committee. The rates for Fiscal year 2003 are $ 0.0040 per meal for operation and $ 0.0045 per meal for start-up.
The one-time start up rate will remain constant for all new members while operational costs will be adjusted in subsequent years to reflect balance on hand as well as the inclusion of new members.
There are currently in excess of 500 items on the bids. These include food, produce, supplies, milk, ice cream, bread and other items used by local districts. The cost savings on the initial bid items will more than cover the service fees which the districts would incur.
In addition to cost savings, member districts will no longer have to prepare, award, or manage bids for the approval items. This responsibility id transferred to the Department of Education as part of the overall operation.
For more information on this innovative, cost saving service, please contact the:
MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
OFFICE OF CHILD NUTRITION
DIVISION OF PURCHASING
P.O. BOX 771
JACKSON, MS 39205
(601) 354-7018
or contact one of the members of the Purchasing Management Committee. |
