Invitation for Bid: Fresh Produce

The Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University Carbondale (University) requests responses from responsible vendors to meet its needs. The University seeks fresh produce to Lentz and Trueblood Dining Halls as outlined in the documentation. Detailed requirements are in subsequent sections of this solicitation and the bid document. If you are interested and able to meet these requirements, the University appreciates and welcomes a response.

Registration for conducting business with the State of Illinois: (30 ILCS 500/20-43) Sec. 20-43. Bidder or offeror authorized to do business in Illinois. In addition to meeting any other requirement of law or rule, a person (other than an individual acting as a sole proprietor) may qualify as a bidder or offeror under this Code only if the person is a legal entity authorized to do business in Illinois prior to submitting the bid, offer, or proposal. The legal entity must be authorized to transact business or conduct affairs in Illinois prior to execution of the contract. Do not confuse this requirement with the Board of Elections certification. You may register to do business at https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/business_services/howdoi.html

If you do $50,000 worth of business annually with the State of Illinois, including the state universities, you are required to register with the State Board of Elections and obtain from them a certificate confirming your registration. If it is discovered that the vendor is non-compliant, but made a good faith effort to comply with registration efforts prior to the date the bid or offer is due, a chief procurement officer may provide the bidder 5 business days to achieve compliance. A chief procurement officer may extend the time to prove compliance by as long as necessary in the event that there is a failure within the State Board of Elections registration system. Responses to Invitations to Bid, Requests for Proposals, Requests for Information, and all other types of procurement solicitations are included in the calculation of this $50,000 annual amount, whether you receive a resulting award or not. If you do less than $50,000 worth of business annually, you may be exempt from the registration requirement.

There will be a pre-submission conference scheduled for this solicitation on March 28, 2024 at 10:00am to discuss the State of Illinois requirements and BEP goals. This is a tele-conference. The number to join the conference and passcode can be found in section 1.2 of the bid documents. It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you attend the pre-submission conference.

Please include your Illinois Procurement Gateway number. If you are not registered, you may register at ipg.illinois.gov/. It is highly recommended that you register with the Illinois Procurement Gateway. You do not have to be registered at the time of bid opening to be in compliance.

NOTE: You must submit either Form A or Form B in your response. You must submit the Utilization plan with your response. You must be registered with the Illinois State Board of Elections prior to the opening date. Failure to register with the ISBE by opening date and failure to submit Form A or Form B and the Utilization plan will result in your submission being considered as Non-Responsive.

There is a 30 percent BEP goal for this procurement. See solicitation documentation for details.
The University reserves the right to accept or reject any and all responses or parts thereof.
Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) eligibility number is required on all proposals, if applicable.
The contract(s) for this solicitation could exceed $50,000 annually.