Project Information

Bid Title

IFB: Milk and Fresh Orange Juice

Issuing Agency

Gaston County Public Schools

Location

North Carolina

Published Date

Apr 17, 2026

Closing Date

May 5, 2026

Government Level

State & Local

Status

Closed

Original Source

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Bid Documents

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Project Description

IFB: Milk and Fresh Orange Juice

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GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS

SCHOOL NUTRITION DEPARTMENT

500 Reid Street

Lowell, NC 28098

P: (704) 836-9110 F: (704) 824-8442

GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS

SCHOOL NUTRITION DEPARTMENT

Milk & Fresh Orange Juice

Invitation for Bid

GCS-2026-DAIRY

April 17, 2026

Deadline to Respond

Tuesday May 5th, 2026

8:45 a.m. (Local Time)

Please review the following information and instructions contained in this Invitation for Bid (IFB).

Should you need additional information, please email Kelsey Keltz @ krkeltz@gaston.k12.nc.us.

Gaston County School Nutrition and/or Gaston County Board of Education reserves the right to reject

any or all proposals and to award the contract in best interest of the district.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

GCS-2026-DAIRY Page 1 of 27

GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS

SCHOOL NUTRITION DEPARTMENT

SCOPE AND PURPOSE:

It is the intent of Gaston County Schools, School Nutrition Department to identify a vendor and

execute a contract to deliver milk and fresh 100% orange juice to all Gaston County Schools

Cafeterias and the Central Kitchen Production Site (this purchase must comply with Federal

regulations and State statutes).

TYPE OF CONTRACT:

1. MILK

Escalating or de-escalating in accordance with market changes in the Class I raw milk prices

based on the Federal-Milk-Order (FMO) announcements for applicable geographical zones.

2. 100% FRESH ORANGE JUICE

Bottom-line firm bid and will not change during the contract period.

MILK PRICING AT START OF CONTRACT:

Proposals are to be based on the April-issued Federal-Milk-Order (FMO) for May 2026. Prices at start

of contract will reflect these prices adjusted as indicated by subsequent FMOs.

MILK PRICE ADJUSTMENTS:

Beginning August 2026, prices will escalate, de-escalate or remain constant based on changes in

Class I raw milk prices based on Federal-Milk-Order announcement for the applicable geographical

zone.

Prices shall remain fixed for an entire calendar month.

Petition to adjust the price shall arrive no later than the 25th of the month prior to the adjustment.

Should the 25th fall on a weekend, then the petition must arrive by the next non-holiday workday. The

petition shall be emailed to Bessie Harvey at blharvey@gaston.k12.nc.us, copying: Tina Franks at

tlfranks@gaston.k12.nc.us; Kelsey Keltz @ krkeltz@gaston.k12.nc.us and may be made on the

following basis: +/- $.001 per half pint for each full $.15 increase in raw milk per hundredweight.

Any petition to change prices must be accompanied by an appropriate copy of the Federal-Milk-Order

and an explanation including conversion calculations showing the manner of arriving at change. The

vendor will provide an email address to submit acceptance or rejection of the petition. This notification

will be returned no later than the last non-holiday working day of the month prior to the adjustment.

CONTRACT PERIOD:

The contract shall be valid for one (1) year from August 1, 2026 through July 31, 2027. Each contract

may be renewed for four (4) one (1) year periods through negotiation between the vendor and Gaston

County School Nutrition. Negotiation may be initiated no later than ninety (90) days prior to the

termination of the current agreement.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

GCS-2026-DAIRY Page 2 of 27

GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS

SCHOOL NUTRITION DEPARTMENT

AWARD CRITERIA:

It is the intent of Gaston County Schools to award this contract to a single bidder considered by

Gaston County School Nutrition to be most advantageous or to constitute its best interest.

After the public opening of bids, Gaston County School Nutrition will require at least ten (10) working

days for review. The bid award will be made by Gaston County School Nutrition and following

approval by the Gaston County Board of Education. A bid award letter will be mailed to the successful

vendor following Gaston County Board of Education approval.

Gaston County School Nutrition and/or Gaston County Board of Education reserves the right to reject

any or all proposals.

DELIVERY:

1. During the academic year, all Gaston County Schools cafeterias will receive deliveries at 54

individual school sites on weekdays that school is in session prior to 12:00 p.m. (local time). Most

schools require at least two deliveries per week. The Central Kitchen Production Site receives a

delivery once a week.

2. During the winter and spring holiday periods deliveries are required if requested.

3. During the summer months, delivery routes will be arranged with the vendor, once the school sites

are established to run the Summer Food Service Program.

4. Orders will be placed directly with the vendor by the cafeteria manager or her/his designee.

5. A delivery schedule for the SY 26-27 must be emailed to Kelsey Keltz (krkeltz@gaston.k12.nc.us)

by July 1, 2026 and shall remain constant throughout the school year unless a written mutually-

agreed-to change in this schedule is made. Contact information for both drivers and route

supervisors should be included in case of emergencies or school cancellations

6. In the event of some unforeseen problem, such as delays or vehicle breakdown, contact Kelsey

Keltz at krkeltz@gaston.k12.nc.us, (704) 836-9110 Ext. 6.

7. Orders may be adjusted or canceled when school is canceled due to weather or other reasons.

Vendor will be contacted regarding necessary adjustments.

8. Repeated failure to meet delivery dates will constitute a breach of contract by the vendor.

9. Milk and juice should be delivered at the proper temperature, no more than 41 degrees Fahrenheit

or less than 33 degrees Fahrenheit and well within the recommended date of use.

10. The bidder shall deliver milk and orange juice in sanitary condition in properly maintained storage

crates to all locations. Delivery crates should be clean and in good condition. Empty crates should

be picked up daily.

11. All goods delivered shall be in the current year standard commercial pack.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

GCS-2026-DAIRY Page 3 of 27

GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS

SCHOOL NUTRITION DEPARTMENT

12. Cartons must be marked with appropriate product identifying information, and embossed with a

clearly labeled expiration date.

13. A delivery ticket/invoice must be furnished with each delivery, listing (a) name and address of the

vendor, (b) receiving delivery location, (c) product name, (d) quantity delivered, (e) unit price, (d)

total price by item. and (f) invoice total.

14. Delivery person shall request the authorized school receiver to verify the accuracy of each item(s)

quantities, brand, code number, condition and temperature upon delivery. Variations shall be

noted on each invoice and initial by both the delivery person and the authorized school receiver.

Full credit or replacement will be issued for any shortages, products delivered outside proper

temperature ranges, with an exceeded expiration date or spoiled products still ‘in-date’.

15. The authorized school receiver must sign all delivery ticket(s)/invoice(s) at the time of delivery.

Unsigned tickets will not be paid. Two (2) copies of the delivery ticket(s)/invoice(s) must be left

with the receiver.

16. If the vendor is delivering products out of more than one warehouse or distribution center, all

warehouses or distribution centers involved in the distribution plan MUST carry or have timely

access to all awarded items and MUST be able to respond to orders in a timely manner.

17. Product substitutions are not allowed, and the involvement of multiple distribution centers will not

be construed as to alter the restrictions against product substitutions.

18. In the event the vendor uses multiple distribution centers, Gaston County School Nutrition will

have ONE CONTACT PERSON for overall Contract management relative to any Contract

resulting from any award under this IFB, and Gaston County School Nutrition WILL NOT be

required to deal with multiple Contacts for overall contract management. Except for items that

have hidden defects or that do not meet specification.

19. Should Gaston County Schools, School Nutrition Department have any Federal meal

reimbursement funds reclaimed due to failed or untimely delivery of milk and/or absence of

required milk products as specified in the contract, the vendor will be charged the reclaimed

amount and expected to pay that amount.

SANITATION REQUIREMENTS:

Vendors agree to comply with all local and state standards of sanitation in their operations. Gaston

County School Nutrition reserves the right to inspect the vendor’s operating facilities at any time. All

items are to be delivered in clean, pest-free vehicles. Refrigerated goods are to be stored and

delivered at the appropriate temperature. The district reserves the right to refuse or return items

which are leaking, show evidence of temperature abuse or are damaged in any way. The district will

be inspecting delivery trucks and products on delivery as outlined in the district HACCP plan. Vendor

agrees to cooperate with such inspections and make necessary corrections because of them.

QUALITY, BEST USED BY DATE, ROTATION OF PRODUCT:

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

GCS-2026-DAIRY Page 4 of 27

GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS

SCHOOL NUTRITION DEPARTMENT

All milk products and juice are to be delivered fresh with a ‘Best Used By’ date of at least 7 days. It is

the responsibility of the delivery driver to rotate product within the cooler upon delivery to help ensure

that the oldest product is used first. The determination of quality or acceptability of products offered

will be made by Gaston County School Nutrition.

SUBSTITUTIONS:

Gaston County School Nutrition will not accept product substitutions on delivery after the bid has

been awarded unless the substitutions have received prior approval from Gaston County School

Nutrition. Unauthorized substitutions may be grounds for termination of the contract and may

jeopardize any future business with Gaston County Schools.

BUY AMERICAN PROVISION:

Section 104(d) of the William F. Goodling Child Reauthorization Act of 1998 requires schools

participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) to

purchase to the maximum extent possible, domestic commodities or products used in meals serves in

the NSLP and SBP. “Domestic commodity or product” is defined as one that is produced in the United

States and over 51 percent of the final processed product consists of agricultural commodities that

are grown domestically.

PRODUCT CHANGES:

Each item that is awarded must be shipped as the approved brand and product submitted on the

bid. Vendors reformulating awarded product codes shall notify Bessie Harvey at

blharvey@gaston.k12.nc.us and copy Kelsey Keltz at krkeltz@gaston.k12.nc.us and Margaret

Cameron mhcameron@gaston.k12.nc.us with the subject header, PRODUCT CHANGE, a minimum

of two months before the existing-formula product is discontinued. New formula product(s) shall not

be shipped without approval in writing. Substituting without the prior approval of Gaston County

School Nutrition will constitute a breach of contract by the vendor.

PRICING:

All freight, delivery, and handling charges, including unloading and inside deliveries when required

are the responsibility of the vendor. Title to all products shall pass to Gaston County School Nutrition

upon receipt and acceptance at the time of delivery.

All foods, beverages and food service supplies procured through Gaston County School Nutrition are

exempt from sales and use tax. State Sales and Use Tax Certificates of Exemption form will be

issued upon request. Sales tax shall be added where applicable.

The bidder is responsible for clearly noting any differences in proposed packaging and/or units of

measure in the quote response, and the bidder shall understand that if the item in question is

awarded to the bidder, the quantity specified for that item will be adjusted to achieve an

approximately equivalent amount of the product.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

GCS-2026-DAIRY Page 5 of 27

Commodity Codes

• NAICS 311511Fluid Milk Manufacturing

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