Hunger Solutions New York is seeking proposals from community based anti-hunger organizations to execute a focused outreach campaign about the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) for WIC Local Agencies in New York State. We invite your agency to submit a proposal.
Individual questions about this RFP should be directed to katie.owens@hungersolutionsny.org. Complete bid documents should be submitted to info@hungersolutionsny.org by 05/03/23 at 4:00 p.m.
Bid Timeline:
Bid Posted: 04/05/23
Question Submission: by 04/12/23
Bid Submission: 05/03/23 – by 4:00 p.m.
Bid Review: 05/03/23 – 05/12/23
Vendor Interviews: 05/17/23 – 05/18/23
Notice of Award: 05/24/23
Contract Start Date: 07/01/23
About Hunger Solutions New York
Hunger Solutions New York is a statewide non-profit dedicated to alleviating hunger for residents of New York State by expanding the availability of, access to, and use of government nutrition assistance programs. We promote awareness of hunger in New York, availability of federally funded nutrition assistance programs, full participation in programs for all who are eligible, policies that contribute to ending hunger, and public awareness of the benefits of anti-hunger programs. You can find out more about Hunger Solutions New York at https://hungersolutionsny.org.
Project Background
Hunger Solutions New York is working with the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) under a multi-year contract to conduct targeted outreach activities to increase enrollment and participation in WIC across the state. A federally funded public health and nutrition program, WIC provides healthy food, nutrition and health education, breastfeeding support, and service referrals to income-eligible women, infants, and children facing nutritional risk. Services are delivered through local providers—hospitals, local health departments, and community-based organizations—around New York State. WIC currently serves 410,000 New Yorkers each month, which is roughly 50% of those who are eligible.
Protecting and improving health and nutrition during pregnancy, infancy and early childhood is urgently important. Research shows that WIC participation is associated with healthier births, improved birth weights, reduced risk of infant mortality, better infant-feeding practices, more nutritious diets, better access to primary and preventive health care, healthier neighborhood food environments, and improved cognitive development and academic achievement in childhood.
Factors influencing participation may include lack of awareness or understanding of WIC and barriers to participation. Food Research and Action Center’s 2019 report, “Making WIC Work Better,” identified the following barriers to WIC participation: misconceptions about eligibility, transportation to reach WIC clinics, negative clinic experiences, language and cultural barriers, loss of time away from work, dissatisfaction with the children’s food package, and difficulty redeeming benefits.
Increasing access to WIC is essential to improving nutrition during critical points in children’s development and reducing health disparities in New York State. To this end, Hunger Solutions New York is seeking a community-based anti-hunger organization to develop and implement an agency-by-agency public outreach campaign to increase awareness and understanding of WIC, with the ultimate goal of increasing enrollment in the 35 WIC Local Agencies in New York City. The successful bidder will work under the direction of Hunger Solutions New York and the New York State Department of Health to build relationships with local agencies to help build community partners, increase referrals and increase the number of WIC participants. Not that Hunger Solutions New York has an ongoing media outreach campaign in New York City to engage with potentially eligible WIC enrollees driving them to WANDA, the WIC chatbot, that will compliment this project.
This is a federally-funded subcontract and the awarded subcontract is subject to the terms of the New York State Master Contract; guidelines can be found here. In keeping with federal regulations, this bid is fully open and competitive. Additionally, Hunger Solutions New York will ensure that small businesses, minority and women business enterprises and labor surplus area firms are used when possible.
Funds will be awarded only to community-based, 501(c)(3), non-governmental organizations whose purposes include the provision of services or other assistance to economically or socially disadvantaged persons.
All WIC Local Agencies in New York City (35 in total) will be addressed between 07/01/23 and 09/30/26. For the purpose of this request for proposals, Hunger Solutions New York is only looking for bidders to address the period of 07/01/23 through 09/30/24.
Hunger Solutions New York is suggesting that the community-based anti-hunger organization approach the WIC Local Agencies according to the following time-based groupings so that all 35 agencies are covered during the contract term. The suggested groups are as follows and would address 5-7 agencies per grouping:
07/01/23 – 03/31/24: Group 1 (extra time is given in this group for start-up and learning)
04/01/24 – 09/30/24: Group 2
10/01/24 – 03/31/25: Group 3
04/01/25 – 09/30/25: Group 4
10/01/25 – 03/31/26: Group 5
04/01/26 – 09/30/26: Group 6
Contract Details:
The total contract period will be from 07/01/23 through 09/30/26, but will be contracted in the following increments of time:
07/01/23 – 09/30/23 Contract Amount: $505,000
10/01/23 – 09/30/24 Contract Amount: TBD
10/01/24 – 09/30/25 Contract Amount: TBD
10/01/25 – 09/30/26 Contract Amount: TBD
The contract amount for the first period is $25,000 and then for each subsequent period is expected to be $100,000 annually, but will be based on availability of funds through Hunger Solutions New York’s contract with NYSDOH. Contracts will be renegotiated each period between the community-based anti-hunger organization and Hunger Solutions New York, and are subject to the approval of NYSDOH. It is the intent of Hunger Solutions New York to renegotiate contracts annually and to work with the same vendor for all contract periods to ensure cohesiveness of deliverables. For the purpose of this request for proposals, Hunger Solutions New York is only looking for bidders to address the budget period of 07/01/23 through 09/30/24. Spending should be addressed as $25,000 in the period 07/01/23 – 09/30/23 and $100,000 in the period 10/01/23 – 09/30/24.
SCOPE OF WORK:
Conduct outreach and build relationships in consult with and on behalf of New York City WIC Local Agencies:
The community-based anti-hunger organization is to conduct county and local partnership building to establish direct referrals to the WIC program on behalf of the WIC Local Agency. The organization will work with WIC Local Agencies to establish what relationships already exist and how the WIC Local Agency would like to grow their presence in the community to establish referral partnerships with healthcare and other community-based organizations. The end goal of the work is to increase referral partners and grow WIC participation for the WIC Local Agencies. The work will be done in approximately six-month cycles with the community-based anti-hunger organization shifting the focus of the WIC Local Agencies in each six-month cycle. The organization is to approach all 35 local agencies in New York City by the conclusion of this project 09/30/26. Not all WIC Local Agencies will opt in to this outreach partnership approach, but all will be given the option to participate. It is suggested that the community-based anti-hunger organization will work with up to 5-7 agencies per cycle. The WIC Local Agencies focused on during each period may be determined and approved by NYSDOH prior to the start of the period.
Proposal Requirements:
Please identify each part and question number in your bid submission so responses are easily identified. Points will not be awarded if the answer cannot be identified. Please complete all parts even if no point are to be awarded.
PART 1 – Scope of Work Narrative (40 Points)
Please provide a high-level assessment of the following requirements of your proposal in narrative form.
1. (10 Points) What is your plan to create and execute an outreach campaign that increases understanding of WIC services and spurs engagement with the WIC Local Agency? (Target audiences will be determined by the WIC Local Agency, but should be those that interact with low-income, under-served populations with a focus on the pregnant and postpartum population, and parents or caregivers of children under age five.)
2. (10 Points) What broad range of traditional and new strategies have you identified to provide education, awareness and understanding of the WIC program and its benefits?
3. (10 Points) How does your organization plan to target relationships with community-based partners that support non-English speaking, underserved, and hard-to-reach populations?
4. (10 Points) Because this work will take place on an agency-by-agency basis touching up to 35 WIC Local Agencies in New York City prior to September 30, 2026, Hunger Solutions New York would like to get an idea of how you would approach the uniqueness of working with multiple agencies at the same time. Please provide a sample month-by-month breakdown of targeted campaign activities for a sample period.
PART 2 – Demonstrated Ability (30 Points)
Please provide the following to show the agency’s ability to complete the work.
1. Provide agency name, year of incorporation, background information, number of employees, and name and email address for a contact person(s).
2. Identify staff who would be assigned to this project and provide titles, job responsibilities, and briefly describe the roles and involvement each person would play in the project.
3. (5 points) Describe comprehensive services you offer as an agency
4. (5 points) Identify primary markets (counties) that your agency currently serves.
5. (5 points) Describe your experience working with non-profits and state agencies and/or government programs.
6. (5 points) Describe your experience doing work to drive enrollment to the WIC Program.
7. (5 points) Provide successful examples of your work reaching an under-served or hard-to-reach audience.
8. (5 points) Identify any areas of unique expertise that are applicable to this campaign.
PART 3 – Budget (30 Points)
Please provide a budget outline (15 Points) and budget narrative (15 Points) that is to include:
- Salary
- Fringe Benefits
- Other than Personnel Costs
- Outreach Materials
- Space / Utilities
- Technology (Internet, Phone, etc.)
- Consultants / Contractors
- Any other cost associated with this work
For the purpose of this request for proposals, Hunger Solutions New York is only looking for bidders to address the budget period of 07/01/23 through 09/30/24. Spending should be addressed as $25,000 in the period 07/01/23 – 09/30/23 and $100,000 in the period 10/01/23 – 09/30/24.
Required Submissions
Please include the following with each proposal:
- Copy of 501(c)(3) Determination Letter
- Copy of OSC Vendor Responsibility Certification
Scoring, Interviews and Bid Selection
Hunger Solutions New York will use a pre-determined Rubric to score each bidder on the categories as they are weighted above. Interviews will be conducted with the top three to five bidders (or any bidder that Hunger Solutions New York deems to be appropriate for this project) in alignment with bid timeline above. A successful vendor will be selected following review of all parts of the bidding process in addition to determining the ability of the vendor to cohesively and effectively work with Hunger Solutions New York. Hunger Solutions New York reserves the right to select the bidder they feel appropriate, regardless of overall bid score.
