Food & Beverage Concessions

Introduction and Background

Purpose of the Request Proposal

Reading Pride was founded in 2003. We are a registered charity run solely by volunteers, aiming to promote equality and diversity, advance education and work towards eliminating discrimination in relation to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people, in Reading and across the Thames Valley. Reading Pride is best known for the annual festival we stage. Our "free-to-enter" event celebrates our local community and has made significant progress in developing an environment in favour of LGBT equality.

Throughout the year we work to raise public awareness of our friends and colleagues at other charitable and voluntary organisations in the local area who provide information, advice and support on a breadth of LGBT issues. Over the last 6 years we have worked tirelessly to raise funds for the community and for our annual festival where we showcase diversity and encourage acceptance throughout Berkshire. Our next festival takes place on 4th September 2010 at Kings Meadow, Reading, and we expect over 14,000 local residents will attend this free event. Reading Pride is interested in sourcing food and beverage supplies to the main Pride site during the 2010 event, providing a range of hot and cold foods, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages to visitors.

Reading Pride is seeking to identify and select outside businesses to perform such activities. The remainder of this document provides additional information that will allow a service provider to understand the scope of the effort and develop a proposal in the format desired by Reading Pride.

Administrive

Contacts

Any questions concerning the proposal and selection process, financial enquiries or scope of services required should be directed to:

Name	James McDonald
Address	PO Box 8106, Reading, RG30 9FA
Phone	07920 829 295
Email	james.mcdonald@readingpride.co.uk

Any questions relating to the event, the activities of Reading Pride or general enquiries should be directed to:

Name	Lorna McArdle
Address	PO Box 8106, Reading, RG30 9FA
Phone	0844 357 0124
Email	lorna.mcardle@readingpride.co.uk

Due Dates

A written confirmation of the supplier’s intent to respond to this RFP is required by 1 April 2010. All proposals are due by 5pm on am/pm on 31 May 2010. Any late proposals will not be evaluated for award.

Schedule of Events

Event	Date
1. RFP Distribution to Vendors.	1st February 2010
2. Written Confirmation of Vendors with Bid Intention.	1st April 2010
3. Questions from Vendors about scope or approach due.	1st April 2010
4. Responses to Vendors about scope or approach due.	30th April 2010
5. Proposal Due Date.	31st May 2010
6. Target Date for Review of Proposals.	18th June 2010
7. Final Vendor Selection Discussion(s).	21st June 2010
8. Anticipated decision and selection of Vendor(s).	2nd July 2010
9. Date of full settlement required from Vendor(s) and return of signed vendor contracts.	4th August 2010
10. Date of work at Reading Pride event.	4th September 2010

Guidelines for Proposal Submission

Proposal Submission

Award of the contract resulting from this RFP will be based upon the most responsive Vendor whose offer will be the most advantageous to Reading Pride in terms of the tender fee proposed, experience of similar events, and other factors as specified elsewhere in this RFP.

Reading Pride reserves the right to:

• Reject any or all offers and discontinue this RFP process without obligation or liability to any potential Vendor,
• Accept other than the highest tender offered,
• Award a contract on the basis of initial offers received, without discussions or requests for best and final offers, and
• Award more than one contract (unless specifically prohibited in the terms of an offer).

Vendor's proposal shall be submitted in several parts as set forth below. The Vendor will confine its submission to those matters sufficient to define its proposal and to provide an adequate basis for Reading Pride’s evaluation of the Vendor’s proposal.

Vendor's proposal in response to this RFP will be incorporated into the final agreement between Reading Pride and the selected Vendor(s). The submitted proposals must include:

1. A summary of your history and experience of similar events.
2. Relevant qualifications, certifications and licensing.
3. Concession type(s) of the proposal (from those defined in the Supplies Required section).
4. Details of any exclusivity requirements.
5. Proposed tender fee payable to Reading Pride.
6. Sizes of the catering units / marquees required.
7. Any specific requests / requirements forming part of your proposal.
8. Any other relevant information.

Reading Pride requests that document lengths are kept to a minimum, and should not exceed two pages.

Evaluation Factors for Award

Criteria

Any award to be made pursuant to this RFP will be based upon the proposal with appropriate consideration given to operational, technical, cost, and management requirements. Evaluation of offers will be based upon the Vendor’s responsiveness to the RFP and the total price quoted for all items covered by the RFP.

The following elements will be the primary considerations in evaluating all submitted proposals and in the selection of a Vendor or Vendors:

1. Completion of all required responses in the correct format.
2. The extent to which Vendor’s proposed solution fulfills Reading Pride’s stated requirements as set out in this RFP.
3. An assessment of the Vendor’s ability to deliver the indicated service(s) in accordance with the specifications set out in this RFP.
4. The Vendor’s stability, experiences, and record of past performance in delivering such services.
5. Overall tender fee of Vendor’s proposal.

Detailed Supply Information

Categories of Supply

The following categories of supply are required for Reading Pride 2010:

Hot Food Concessions

• Supplier of hot foods (pre-defined in the proposal document by food type, eg Indian, BBQ) and soft drinks only.
• Maximum concessions: 4.

Cold Food Concessions

• Supplier of cold foods (sandwiches, baguettes, salads), hot beverages and soft drinks only.
• Maximum concessions: 2.

Confectionary Concessions

• Supplier of confectionary items only.
• Maximum concessions: 1.

VIP Concession

• Sole supplier of hot and/or cold foods, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages (subject to license) in the VIP area only.
• Maximum concessions: 1.

Alcohol Concessions

• Supplier of alcoholic beverages and soft drinks only.
• Maximum concessions: 2.

Other Concessions

• Proposals are invited for other concessions, or combinations of the above concessions, and will be considered on an individual basis.

Note: any requests for exclusivity must be included in your proposal. We do not offer exclusivity over a whole category of supply (unless our maximum concession number is one), however we can offer exclusivity over part of a category (for example, exclusivity over oriental hot food or BBQ foods within the hot food concessions category). Proposals tendering for all of the concessions within a category are permitted.

Terms and Conditions

1. All food and beverages available on the day will be agreed with Reading Pride prior to the event through the proposal document and supply contract.
2. Beverages must be of a non-alcoholic variety unless an alcohol concession is tendered for.
3. Details of elevant food and beverage handling, hygiene and health and safety certification should accompany a tender, and must be made available upon request.
4. If fuel (petrol/diesel) is being used for the powering of a generator or other use it must be used in with regard to all current health and safety procedures.
5. Restrictions on movement of vehicles around the Pride site during the event will be imposed for health and safety reasons only.
6. Proposals must clearly state the concession type required, any exclusivity requirements, the proposed tender fee and the size of units required, as detailed above.
7. If seating and tables are required these will be capped to a maximum of 3 tables and 12 chairs per area. Tables and chairs will either be provided by the supplier or can be hired from Reading Pride at cost price by prior arrangement.
8. All monies for an agreed tender must be paid in accordance with the timetable outlined in this document.
9. Alcohol suppliers will be accountable for the sales of alcohol, and will be required to confirm they have trained their staff on our Challenge 25 policy.