The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) has a continuing requirement for National Mobile Food Services for fire suppression activities, all-hazard incidents and severity/preparedness assignments.

The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), located in Boise, Idaho, is the nation’s support center for wildland firefighting. Eight different agencies and organizations are part of NIFC. Decisions are made using the interagency cooperation concept because NIFC has no single director or manager. The Boise Interagency Fire Center (BIFC) was created in 1965 because the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and National Weather Service saw the need to work together to reduce the duplication of services, cut costs, and coordinate national fire planning and operations. The National Park Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs joined BIFC in in the mid 1970s. The US Fish and Wildlife Service later joined in 1979. The Center’s name was changed in 1993 from the Boise Interagency Fire Center to the National Interagency Fire Center to more accurately reflect its national mission.

Scope of work includes:

• Obtain the services of Mobile Food Service Units (MFSU) at various field locations during wildland fire and other types of incidents throughout the contiguous western United States. The expectation and desired result of this Statement of Work (SOW) is to provide appetizing, nutritional, well balanced hot and special meals, sack lunches, hot and cold can meals and supplemental items
• MFSU Requirements – The MFSU is to include all equipment, supervision, labor, materials, and supplies (except for those items listed as Government furnished) to accomplish the full scope of work defined herein. Only equipment necessary for the operation of a MFSU will be allowed and approved for use under this contract. Equipment must be capable of operating in adversely impacted urban areas to remote primitive locations with very limited access
• These services shall include complete management, control, purchase, receipt, storage, issue, handling, processing, packaging, preparation, food serving, clean up, transport, repair, and maintenance. All hot meals shall be served by Contractor personnel, except for those meals served at Spike Camps. All meals shall be served and consumed at the Incident dining area except sack lunches and hot/cold can meals, which will be delivered to the Government at a specified time and place. Exceptions to meals eaten outside the dining area may be approved on a case by case basis by the Food Unit Leader (FDUL)
• The Contractor shall have the capability to feed personnel when requested by the FDUL at times other than those established for regular meals. The intent is to provide meals on an “as requested” basis but does not require the kitchen to be open continuously 24 hours per day
• Ordering Requirements – Any time mobile food services are needed for federal wildland fire incidents in the western United States, the Federal Wildland Fire Agencies, hereinafter referred to as the Government, are obligated to order services from the National MFSU Contractors any time (a) the number of people to be fed is at or above 150 persons per meal and; (b) the headcount is estimated to remain at those numbers, or greater, for at least 72 hours from when the headcount first reaches 150 per meal, provided that the Contractor can reasonably meet the incident’s needs and required time frames. MFSU Contractors will be given the opportunity to provide three meals per day up to their maximum stated capacity, unless other arrangements are mutually agreed to with the FDUL or the needs of the incident require different meal options such as Meals Ready to Eat (MRE). When the Government’s needs at an incident exceed the Contractor’s stated maximum capacity, the Government may alternatively source meals as required
• Ordering Additional MFSUs – The Government may, at any time, order more than one MFSU Unit to support an incident
• Non-Fire Incidents – MFSU also may be ordered for other types of incidents at the Government’s option. State and other federal cooperators may utilize this contract at their option. However, the ordering procedures in Section C.8 will be followed for all orders
• Hot Food and Beverage Containers – The Government, at its option, may order hot meals and/or cold breakfast to be prepared and placed in Government furnished food and drink containers (Hot Beverage Container NFES 0244 and Hot Food Container NFES 0246)
• Supplemental Items – The Government may order, and the Contractor at its option, may provide supplemental beverages and sandwiches, additional refrigeration storage space and additional tents/seating as shown and at the rates offered in the Contractor’s current Unit Summary. The FDUL shall clearly document and approve the order on Form 1276-B, Daily Meal Order/Invoice, (Continuation Sheet) under Miscellaneous Charges
• Availability – During an MFSU’s Mandatory Availability Period (MAP), the Contractor is required to provide availability status, via email to the Contracting Officer (CO) at [email protected] and the Incident Support Branch at [email protected], daily by 1000 Mountain Time for each MFSU. Failure to provide daily notification during an MFSU’s MAP will result in the MFSU being recorded as unavailable status. The Contractor is required to notify the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) via email at [email protected] and the CO at [email protected], in writing by email any time their MFSU is unavailable for dispatch. On January 1 of each calendar year (start of each Option period), all MFSUs, including CWN MFSUs, will be considered unavailable until the Contractor notifies NICC and the CO by email of their availability status and physical location of the MFSU. To be considered for an assignment, outside of an MFSU’s MAP, the resource is required to be physically located at either their DDP or the Company’s Headquarters (defined as the company’s regular operating physical address as stated in Block 17 on Standard Form 1449) and have emailed their availability status to NICC and the CO. The Contractor must notify NICC and the CO via email if the physical location of the MFSU changes. Failure to provide daily notifications during an MFSU’s MAP may result in a poor past performance evaluation and/or suspension of the unit. The intent of this contract is to have MFSUs available to the Government during MAPs. CWN MFSUs are not required to provide daily status updates. The Government reserves the right to periodically verify the availability and location of all units
• Unavailability – The Contractor shall notify NICC and the CO of any unavailable status, in writing, at any time. A Contractor with excessive unavailability during their MAP (20 percent or greater) may result in poor past performance evaluation, temporary suspension of the unit, and risk not receiving a renewal of their next Option Year resulting in that MFSU’s removal from the contract. When a Contractor is unavailable during their MAP, the length of their unavailability shall be deducted from the total amount of their minimum annual guarantee under this contract. The amount of the deduction will be based on the daily rate. CWN MFSUs are required to provide unavailability status to assist NICC in contacting only the available CWN MFSUs. CWN MFSUs do not have an excessive unavailability requirement. The Contractor is not obligated to accept orders if they have emailed NICC and the CO of their unavailability in advance of the placement of an order. The Government is not obligated to offer orders to MFSUs that are in unavailable status or under temporary suspension
• Vacant Designated Dispatch Points (DDPs) – DDP locations where an MFSU has not received a renewal of the next Option Year, resulting in removal from the contract, may be individually solicited and a new MFSU may be placed in that DDP for the remainder of the contract Period of Performance. When a DDP becomes temporarily unavailable, the CO may hire CWN MFSUs, non-National contract resources or relocate other National Contract resources to perform the work that would have been performed by the unavailable Contractor at their DDP. In these situations, any CWN MFSU or non-National Contractors dispatched to an incident shall be allowed to complete that current assignment and not be replaced if the previously unavailable National Contractor’s status changes. Anytime a National and a NonNational Contractor are assigned to the same incident, the Non-National Contractor shall be the first to be demobilized
• Contractor Evaluations – The designated Government representative is required to complete an Interagency Mobile Food Services Performance Evaluation Form (See Exhibit D.4 and D.4A – Form 1276-E (06/2019)) prior to leaving each incident or prior to team transitions. The designated Government representative is required to distribute the completed copies of the evaluation as instructed on the form. (Do not send copies of the evaluation form to the Albuquerque Payment Center). The form, in addition to other performance information which may become available, will be utilized to facilitate the Contractor’s annual performance report. The CO will provide the Contractor 30 calendar days to respond to any negative performance information received