Cafeteria & Food Services
Overview
Federal cafeteria and other food services impact millions of federal employees and set a precedent for the rest of the country. These services include the preparation and offering of food and beverage items, waste management, and the ongoing management of the cafeteria space.
You can determine the specific sustainable requirements that apply to cafeteria and food services by clicking on the required green products on the Left Side of this page.
You can find the federal government’s sustainable acquisition policies and procedures at Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 23
. Federal agencies are required to procure sustainable products and services to the maximum extent practicable. Per FAR 23.103(c), this includes products under contract actions for services or construction if the products are:
- Delivered to the Government;
- Furnished by the contractor for use by the Government;
- Incorporated into the construction of a public building or public work; or
- Acquired by the contractor for use in performing services under a Government contract where the cost of the products is a direct cost to a Government contract.
It is not only important to provide healthy food and beverage offerings, but to do so in an environmentally sustainable way. Federal buyers can help green contracts for cafeteria and food services by requiring sustainable food and beverage offerings, waste management programs, green cleaning and pest management practices, and the use of reusable and green products. This type of service typically falls under NAICS code 722310 and Product Service Codes (PSC) M1FD and Z1FD.
Downloadable Resources
Selected Past Solicitations If you have past Cafeteria & Food Services green solicitations that would be informative to the green procurement community, please submit them to sftool@gsa.gov.
GSA Cafeteria Services - Full Solicitation
Full 2012 solicitation issued by GSA for cafeteria services at 3 DHS locations. Note that the SOW refers to revoked executive orders 13514 and 13423
GSA Cafeteria Services - Instructions to Offerors and Evaluation
Solicitation excerpt for cafeteria services for the National Cancer Center
GSA Concession Services - Instructions to Offerors and Evaluation
Solicitation excerpt for concession services for the Jackson Federal Building
GSA PBS - RFP Template for Sustainable Food Services
Sustainable food services RFP template for the National Capital Region PBS. Note that the SOW refers to revoked executive orders 13514 and 13423.
National Science Foundation Cafe/Bistro Services
Excerpts from the Scope of Work, Instructions to Offerors, and Evaluation Criteria addressing sustainable products and operations requirements. The SOW includes references to revoked executive orders 13423 and 13514 that should be deleted.
Required Green Products
In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 23, federal agencies are required to procure sustainable products and services to the maximum extent practicable (see FAR 23.103, 23.105, and 23.106 for additional information, including exceptions and exemptions). In support of cafeteria and food services, the following purchasing programs may be applicable:
Federal agencies are directed to prioritize items that are both CPG (see FAR 23.107-1) and BioPreferred (see FAR 23.107-2); however, in instances when federal agencies must choose between the two programs, and both items meet the agency's needs, federal agencies are directed to procure the CPG item.
Download a suggested list of related products covered by these federal purchasing programs:
FAR 23.104(c) provides direction to ensure that federal agencies, first and foremost, comply with statutory purchasing program requirements and prioritize multi-attribute sustainable products and services, which are those that meet all applicable statutory purchasing program requirements and one or more required U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) purchasing programs.
Considerations:
- Identify sustainable products and services in the statement of work or elsewhere in the contract, including the purchasing program and type of product or service that are applicable.
- Include FAR 52.223-23, Sustainable Products and Services, which requires contractors to ensure the sustainable products and services identified in the contract are delivered, incorporated, or furnished under the contract.
- Include FAR 52.223-2, Reporting of Biobased Products Under Service and Construction Contracts, which requires service and construction contractors to report their purchases of biobased products to the System for Award Management (SAM).
- Refer to GSA's Sustainability Policies for Leased Buildings for information on both required and recommended provisions.
Sustainability Considerations
There are many other commercial practices that will result in a more sustainable and environmentally preferable service. Below are a few suggestions you may consider when defining performance requirements and developing evaluation criteria. For additional details on sustainable practices and nutrition guidelines, users are encouraged to review the Food Service Guidelines for Federal Facilities. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and GSA worked collaboratively to create this document, which proposes specific food, nutrition, and sustainability guidelines to complement the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.
- Offer healthy food choices in line with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
- Require a minimum percentage of foods be organically, locally, or documented sustainably grown (e.g., integrated pest management, pesticide free, other labeling programs).
- Offer seasonal varieties of fruits and vegetables.
- Where seafood options are offered, provide those procured from responsibly managed, sustainable, healthy fisheries. Guidance on how to make sustainable seafood choices is found on the NOAA Sustainable Seafood site.
- Offer Certified Organic or documented sustainably or locally produced milk and milk products.
- Offer only Certified Organic or documented sustainably or locally produced eggs and meat (e.g., grass fed, free-range, pasture raised, grass finished, humanely raised and handled).
- Offer coffee and tea that are Certified Organic, shade grown, and/or bird friendly.
- Label organic, local, or documented sustainably grown items available in food service at the point of choice. For locally grown foods, include information that identifies the farms and sustainable practices used.
- Offer drinking water, preferably chilled tap. Promote the use of tap water over bottled water.
- When bottled water is necessary, require bottled water be offered in containers that minimize plastic or compostable bottles (if composting is available).
- Implement waste management, recycling, and composting programs. Educate customers on how to properly dispose of waste.
- Promote and incentivize the use of reusable beverage containers and other reusable items.
- Use reusable linens, flatware, glassware, etc. When this is not feasible, offer compostable flatware, plates, bowls, etc. made with recycled and/or biobased content.
- Partner and engage with a food bank donation program.
- Utilize bulk purchasing programs in lieu of individually packaged products to include, but not limited to, beverages and condiments.
- Offer education and marketing programs to increase employee and customer awareness of green practices. Signage, table tents, menu notes, newsletters, and emails can help communicate this message.
- Incorporate practices that will be used to reduce energy and water use.
- Recycle residual fats, oils, and greases.
- Use Energy Star labeled refrigerators, freezers, ovens/ranges, dishwashers, griddles, and other appliances.
- Maintain equipment in accordance with manufacturer guidelines. For refrigerators, this includes regularly cleaning refrigerator condensers, defrosting manual-defrost refrigerators and freezers, vacuuming condenser coils, etc.
- Don’t keep refrigerators and freezers too cold. Maintain temperature range within manufacturer guidelines.
- Use evaporator fan controllers for medium-temperature walk-in refrigerators.
- Use green cleaning practices.
- Implement Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and green pest control practices to the maximum extent practicable.
- Antimicrobial products certified to display EPA’s Design for the Environment (DfE) logo meet high standards for human health and the environment. Learn more about DfE and find certified products.
Evaluation Factors
There are many opportunities to consider environmental criteria in your evaluation of offers. A Pass/Fail approach may be appropriate for establishing basic green product requirements or when market research shows that other sustainable practices are common in the commercial marketplace. For example, you might require that a minimum of 25% of the offered product line be organically, locally, or documented sustainably grown – an offeror can either meet this requirement (pass) or it cannot (fail).
In some cases, it may be appropriate to consider environmental aspects through a Best Value Tradeoff approach in lieu of, or in addition to, pass/fail criteria. By incorporating environmental criteria into your evaluation factors, you can weigh a vendor’s ability to offer desirable sustainable practices above and beyond minimum contract requirements in relation to other factors, such as price. Several potential opportunities for incorporating environmental considerations into your evaluation factors are listed below:
- Technical Approach and/or Sustainability Plan – Evaluate the contractor’s technical approach and plans to implement sustainable practices. Require contractors to detail how they will use green products, minimize waste, introduce energy and water efficiency methods, green general operations, provide sustainable menu offerings, and educate customers on sustainable practices.
- Waste Management – Evaluate how contractors intend to minimize, manage, and dispose of waste, including plans to minimize, recycle, compost, and reuse materials.
- Past Performance – Evaluate how well the contractor performed previous projects where they have successfully implemented green cafeteria and food services, including the use of green products.
- Previous Experience – Require contractors to demonstrate their experience and capability to provide green cafeteria and food services similar in size, scope, and complexity to the required work.
- Staffing Plan – Give consideration to staffing plans that propose persons with green certifications or to contractors that require employees to take environmental training.
Your evaluation should also consider all costs over the life of the project, not just the initial cost. For instance, energy- and water-efficient appliances and reusable linens, flatware, and glassware may save money over time.
Where to Buy
Federal agencies may purchase a full range of food service supplies, equipment and services under GSA's Multiple Award Schedule Category 337127CFSB. While these contracts include basic terms and conditions, the ordering agency is responsible for inserting the appropriate green requirements and language into the solicitation. More information on ordering through GSA Multiple Award Schedules can be found here.
References