Sources Sought
Full-Line Food and Food-Service Supply Distribution - Lawton Indian Hospital
Department of Health and Human Services · Indian Health Service
AI summaryBuy Indian Act set-aside sources sought: the Indian Health Service is looking for Indian Small Business Economic Enterprises (firms that are Indian-owned and meet the Buy Indian Act definition), and other small businesses are encouraged to respond. It plans a five-year blanket purchase agreement (BPA: a standing agreement for repeated orders) for food and food-service supplies delivered to Lawton Indian Hospital in Lawton, Oklahoma. This is not a solicitation. The response due date is November 6, 2026, 1:00 PM Central. More in the summary
Market research, not a bid. Replying is free and tells Indian Health Service who could do this work. Send a short reply to the contracting contact; no price is needed. See the contact
AI summary Beta
Buy Indian Act set-aside sources sought: the Indian Health Service is looking for Indian Small Business Economic Enterprises (firms that are Indian-owned and meet the Buy Indian Act definition), and other small businesses are encouraged to respond. It plans a five-year blanket purchase agreement (BPA: a standing agreement for repeated orders) for food and food-service supplies delivered to Lawton Indian Hospital in Lawton, Oklahoma. This is not a solicitation. The response due date is November 6, 2026, 1:00 PM Central.
Who can bid
- Buy Indian Act set-aside: self-certify as an Indian Economic Enterprise with Indian ownership on the Representation Form, and stay qualified at offer, at award and through contract performance
- Be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) and keep the registration active for the whole BPA period
How to submit: Email to Contract Specialist Mary Ann Yocham at maryann.yocham@ihs.gov, with notice number IHS-SS-10222026 in the subject line. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (8)
From the version posted Oct 22, 2026.
- Serious: Buy Indian Act set-aside. SAM.gov shows a Buy Indian set-aside, and a firm must self-certify as an Indian Economic Enterprise on the attached form. Other small businesses may respond but may not be able to receive the award.
- Worth checking: Sources sought only, not a solicitation. No offer or quote can be sent now. A presolicitation notice and solicitation may follow, and a response to this notice is not an adequate response to a solicitation.
- Worth checking: Price Schedule not in the text read. The PWS says the item list and quantities are in a Price Schedule (Attachment 1), but its text was not in the attachments read. The notice also calls the Representation Form Attachment 1 and lists a Statement of Work as Attachment 2.
Show all 8Show fewer
- Worth checking: Open catalog with fixed discount for five years. Items not on the Price Schedule are priced at your catalog price less a fixed Government discount for the life of the BPA, so cost changes over five years fall on you.
- Worth checking: No fuel or delivery surcharges. Delivery, fuel and transaction costs must be built into unit prices; separate surcharges are not permitted.
- Worth checking: Standard delivery within 2 business days. You need delivery capacity in Lawton, Oklahoma, plus a documented emergency order process for events like freezer or cooler loss.
- Minor: Strict cold-chain and shelf-life standards. Refrigerated items must arrive at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or colder, frozen items solid, and minimum shelf life is set by category; the performance targets are 95% on time and 97% order accuracy.
- Minor: Response limited to 5 pages. The capability statement must show direct experience within 5 pages.
Read from the notice and 1 attachment. Show which files.
- IHS_Sources_Sought_IHS-SS-10_22_2026_2026-10-22.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Full-line food distribution plus disposable, food-service and sanitation supplies for the hospital's Dietary Department
- Categories: dairy and eggs, meat and poultry, bread and bakery, fresh produce, canned and dry goods, beverages, disposables
- Open catalog: the Government may order any item in the contractor's catalog, not only the listed items
- Deliver to the hospital receiving dock within 2 business days of an order, in the 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. preferred window; no deliveries after 4:15 p.m.
- Keep cold-chain temperatures and shelf-life minimums, and handle emergency and expedited orders
- Provide a dedicated account representative, an online ordering portal and a toll-free order line
- Follow food safety laws (PACA for produce, FDA Food Code, USDA grading, HACCP cold-chain handling)
- Include delivery, fuel and transaction costs in unit prices; no separate surcharges
- Contract type
- Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) planned; this notice is a sources sought
- Period of performance
- 5 Year BPA
- Place of performance
- Lawton Indian Hospital, 1515 NE Lawrie Tatum Rd, Lawton, OK 73507
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- How they'll choose
- No award evaluation is described. Responses to this notice are reviewed for capability and experience. The performance work statement (PWS) says a Price Schedule 'market basket' of items will be used for evaluation and award of the later BPA.
- Offers due
- November 6, 2026, 1:00 PM Central
- How to submit
- Email to Contract Specialist Mary Ann Yocham at maryann.yocham@ihs.gov, with notice number IHS-SS-10222026 in the subject line
- Page limits
- Capability statement response: 5 pages maximum
What to include when you submit
- Put IHS-SS-10222026 in the email subject line
- Send a capability statement that shows your capability, experience and ability to supply full-line food and food-service supplies to the Lawton Indian Hospital Dietary Department; generic statements are not enough
- Include company name, socioeconomic status, SAM unique entity ID (UEI), CAGE code, tax ID, date submitted, and mailing address, phone and website
- Include the name, phone and email of a contact with authority and knowledge to clarify your response
- List your GSA Schedule number or other available procurement vehicle, and your System for Award Management (SAM) registration status
- Attach the signed Buy Indian Act Indian Economic Enterprise Representation Form
- Do not include proprietary, classified, confidential or sensitive information
After award, you must have
- Contractor staff must meet Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12: the federal ID standard for contractor employees) requirements From IHS_Sources_Sought_IHS-SS-10_22_2026_2026-10-22.pdf:
…non-routine and routine contractor employees shall…
Not in the notice text
- The Price Schedule (the item list, quantities and unit sizes for the 'market basket') is not in the text read; it may be on SAM.gov or released with the later solicitation.
- Estimated BPA value, order volumes and the number of awards are not stated.
- Evaluation factors for the later award are not given, other than the Price Schedule market basket.
- Whether a later solicitation will be limited to Indian Economic Enterprises, and its date, are not stated.
- The Statement of Work listed as Attachment 2 was not separate from the PWS in the text read.
Eligibility and how to respond
- Set aside for a group of businesses: check the notice for who can bid.
- To respond, send a short reply to the contracting contact near the top of this page. No price is needed.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 22, 2026
- Notice type
- Sources Sought
- Office
- Indian Health Service, Oklahoma City, OK
- Product/service code
- 8945 · Food, Oils and Fats
- Business type
- Food & food service (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 311999)
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
Terms on this notice: Sources sought notice, Set-aside
Full notice text from SAM.gov
This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. Pursuant to 48 CFR Part 326, Subpart 326.603-3 and IHM 5.5-6, the Indian Health Service (IHS) must use the negotiation authority of the Buy Indian Act, 25 U.S.C. 47, to give preference to Indian Economic Enterprises (IEE) whenever the use of that authority is authorized and practicable. The Government is seeking to identify Indian Small Business Economic Enterprises (ISBEEs) capable of performing the below Indian Health Service (IHS) requirement for Full-Line Food and Food-Service Supply Distribution. Any vendor responding to this notice should submit their capability statement as well as the Buy Indian Act Indian Economic Enterprise Representation Form (attached). Instructions for submission are outlined below. Indian Small Business Economic Enterprises (ISBEEs) and other small business are highly encouraged to respond to this notice. However, firms should understand that generic capability statements are not sufficient for effective evaluation of their capacity and capability to perform the work required. Responses must directly demonstrate the company's capability, experience, and ability to provide full-line food distribution and related disposable/food-service supplies to the Lawton Indian Hospital Dietary Department. The Contractor shall furnish all labor, transportation, delivery personnel, and resources necessary to deliver ordered products to the hospital receiving area in accordance with this PWS. The place of performance is Lawton Indian Hospital, 1515 NE Lawrie Tatum Rd, Lawton, OK 73507. Applicable NAICS Code: 311999 — All Other Miscellaneous Food Manufacturing (small business size standard: 700 employees). Product Service Code (PSC): 8945.
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