Single Source Procurement: End of AIDS - Nutrition Program

Pursuant to New York State Finance Law § 163.10(b), The New York State Department of Health is presenting the following summary of relevant circumstances, and material and substantial reasons why a competitive procurement was not feasible.

The intent of the Nutrition Health Education and Food and Meal Services Initiative is to support nutrition interventions that improve, maintain and/or delay the decline of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH/A) health status. The Nutrition Initiative has two components that assist PLWH/A to support their nutritional goals; Nutrition Health Education (NHE) and Food and Meal Services. Nutrition Health Education empowers clients to learn, practice and apply self-management skills needed to achieve optimal health outcomes. Self-management skills development includes teaching independent health care behaviors and decision making, while encouraging clients to be responsible for their health care and lifestyle choices. The Food and Meal services offer nutrient dense, well balanced, and safe meals tailored to the specific dietary needs of PLWH/As. This can assist in maximizing the benefits of medical interventions and care.

The Food and Meal component is designed to complement NHE and is comprised of the following:

  • Home-Delivered Meals (hot and/or frozen) help to maintain or improve the health and well-being of home restricted individuals with HIV/AIDS by providing high calorie, high protein, therapeutically tailored meals and snacks. For PLWH/A who lack the ability to shop for and prepare food, home-delivered meals fulfill a critical need, often allowing them to remain in the community longer.
  • Congregate Meals are served in community locations fostering access to health care, prevention, and supportive services, while meeting the nutritional needs of PLWH/A. Many individuals using the congregate meal programs are indigent, homeless, or in marginal housing which lack kitchen facilities and food preparation equipment.
  • Food Pantry Bags and Food Vouchers allow PLWH/A with limited financial resources access to nutritious food. In conjunction with nutrition services, PLWH/A are able to increase their levels of independence by preparing meals and making their own food choices.

The $100,000 in enhanced State funding will be divided equally among all of the four current State funded contracts. Each NHE&FM program will receive $25,000 to enhance and/or expand NHE and Food and Meal services to PLWH/A. This additional funding is a one-time only enhancement that must be used by the end of the contract year (3/31/15). This one-time funding increase will be subject to the same pricing, terms, and conditions of the existing contract. Future procurements will assess and be responsive to the needs of PLWH/A by maximizing available resources. Each current contract was awarded based on the highest scores in the region through the competitive RFA process (DOH01-0000376-345000).

Procurement / Program Name End of AIDS – Nutrition Program
Contractor Name(s) Multiple – Please see attached.
Contract Period 4/1/2014 – 3/31/2015
Contract Number(s) C027999 – C028003