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Danbury selects Chartwells for school food service after RFP; state review pending
Summary
After a multi-vendor request-for-proposals process, Danbury officials said they selected Chartwells (part of Compass Group) to provide school food services, replacing a decades-long relationship with Sodexo; the award requires state review of scoring sheets before becoming final.
District staff told the Board of Education on May 20 that five companies responded to the district27s request for proposals for food service management and four submitted formal bids; the public bid opening occurred May 1 at 2 p.m. After a multi-person review using a points rubric, Chartwells (part of the Compass Group) was selected as the highest-ranked bidder.
"Although we were with Sodexo for 40 plus years and had some really great experiences there, we wound up going in a different direction for this year," a district official said during the public meeting. The district notified Chartwells and the three non-selected bidders last week, and staff said they will submit the scoring sheets to the state for compliance review before the award is final.
Officials described the evaluation as extensive: each bid arrived in a binder with supporting materials and a USB drive, reviewers visited school operations and scored vendors on price, quality, menu selections and participation in Farm to School, among other categories. The district said it expects the contract term to be a renewable five-year agreement but added the district is not locked in and could re-run the procurement if the district is unsatisfied.
District leaders said most cafeteria employees will remain Danbury public employees under the new vendor arrangement, with only a few senior managers potentially loaned or transferred. Staff emphasized that the selection is contingent on state review of the scoring documentation before it becomes effective.
Board members asked whether local districts currently use Chartwells and whether food sampling was part of the process; staff said Chartwells listed Connecticut sites and that food sampling did not take place as part of the evaluation.
