CHILD NUTRITION COOPERATIVE
This agreement is to define the cooperative purchasing group referred to as the Child Nutrition Cooperative. Montana Cooperative Services (MCS) shall be the sponsoring organization.
The name of this purchasing group shall be the Child Nutrition Cooperative, hereinafter referred to as the "CNC.” The member districts, private schools, institutions, or childcare centers hereby agree to cooperatively purchase upon the following terms and conditions:
1. The
members of the CNC are duly constituted school districts, private schools,
institutions, or child care centers, within the state of
2. The members of the CNC have joined together for the purpose of letting bids for the purchase of selected food, supplies, chemicals, paper, and equipment.
3. The CNC member shall be represented by an Advisory Board. The Advisory Board will consist of one representative from each member school district, private school, institution, or child care center.
4. Duties of
the Advisory Board will be to:
·
Assist in review of CNC organizational
structure and programs and make recommendations regarding the same to
·
Review bids and related presentations
and develop a recommendation for a prime vendor selection and present their
recommendation to MCS.
·
Participate in can cuttings, food
fairs, etc., and develop recommendations to be included in bid specifications.
·
Any other duty determined to be
appropriate and which will benefit the CNC.
5. All bids and awards materials and services supplied under this contract shall comply with all local, state, and federal laws and regulations. The contractor shall maintain all applicable licenses and permits. The members of the CNC agree to establish such contract to the extent permitted by law and to the extent agreed by the parties.
6. No member of the CNC will accept responsibility for the performance of any purchasing contract by the vendor or the payment of the purchases of any other member.
7. Each member agrees to “Buy American” as
outlined in the Commodity Distribution Reform Act and WIC Amendments of 1987
and Section 250.23 of the Federal Food Distribution Program regulations.
8. The award shall be a prime vendor
agreement. The Advisory Board shall receive, review, and develop a
recommendation for the bid award.
9. The final approval of the bid award
will be the sole responsibility of the governing body of the sponsoring
organization – MCS.
10. Members agree to purchase all products
they estimated from the awarded vendor. Members are responsible to notify the
vendor if their award purchases differ from the estimates by plus or minus
15%.
11. This
agreement shall be in full force and effect from
12. MCS members will not pay a fee.
13. Members
agree to attend an annual training and information session each year.
14. Members agree to comply with all
reasonable vendor time lines and minimum and maximum order quantities. The minimum order for each drop will be
$500.00.
15. Montana Cooperative Services agrees to serve as the fiscal agent for the CNC Purchasing Program and to administer Cooperative Purchasing according to the terms herein stated.
16. The following duties shall be the responsibility of MCS to each entity entering into this cooperative purchasing agreement:
a. amalgamate
all statistical data relevant to cooperative purchasing in order to promulgate
a valid basis upon which to solicit bids.
b. coordinate
those activities commensurate with updating and perpetuating proper
specifications inherent within the bidding process.
c. prepare
and print the official bid document and send said bid document to suppliers of
merchandise.
d. prepare
and cause to be published the official legal notice of the Bid Opening.
e. conduct
the public Bid Opening and resulting Bid Review in accordance with
f. compile
and prepare bid awards, notices, and provide same to each member.
g. assist
any respective member with any problems related to the processing and delivery
of orders from the supplier.
h. participate
in an annual audit of cooperative purchasing accounts and records.
i. Periodically conduct audits of the
prime vendors pricing to determine adherence to the contract.
j. Obtain certifications of vendor
compliance with provisions of the following Acts: Fair Labor Standards;
Occupational Safety and Health; Energy Policy and Conservation Act; Equal
Employment Opportunity; Clean Air Act; Clean Water Act; Executive Order’s
11375, 117389, and 12549; and Environmental Protection Agency Regulations, and
any others which may be required.
17.
Any penalties assessed against any
participating companies for late deliveries or for any default by any company
shall be credited to the accounts of the individual members and said penalties,
if any, shall be the responsibility of Montana Cooperative Services to properly
collect.
18. Each member agrees to make a good faith estimate of the quantity of products that they expect to purchase for the next year and for each year in which a bid is solicited. These estimates shall be consolidated and vendors will be requested to quote prices based on this total volume. Estimates are due to CNC before any purchases are made.
19. Members agree to provide a total of the dollars annually expended and to purchase not less than 60% of the total dollars they annually expend on food and food service related supplies through the CNC selected prime vendor. Members are allowed to purchase up to 40% of their total dollars expended from other vendors at their sole discretion.
20. Failure to uphold purchasing commitments or to follow CNC agreements may result in the vendor(s) refusing to sell product to members at the agreed upon price.
21. The estimated 60% of the dollars
expended for food for the following year is:
$___________________________
(Usually this is 60% of last years food expenditures --- does not include
wages)
Dated this _______________ day of ________________________, 2008.
In Witness Whereof, the said parties have hereunto
subscribed their names on the date above written.
________________________________________ ______________________________________
________________________________________
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Return the signed original agreement to:
Frank Loehding, MCS
Phone: 406-488-6247
Fax: 406-488-6246