Opportunity Overview
Hawai‘i State Department of Education (HIDOE) has released IFB D27-055 / HIePRO B27000433 — Regional Kitchen Operational Readiness Validation and Completion Support for its first Regional Kitchen in Central O‘ahu. The State is seeking professional operational planning, implementation, and readiness support to transition the newly constructed facility into a safe, standardized, efficient, and sustainable high-volume school food-production operation.
Deadline and Procurement Status
The solicitation was released September 18, 2026 and is currently listed by HIePRO as Released. Bids are due October 14, 2026 at 4:30 PM Hawaii Standard Time (HST) through HIePRO. Written discrepancies, omissions, or questions are due to HIDOE by September 28, 2026. The solicitation states that interpretations and supplemental instructions will be issued by written addendum.
Importantly, the solicitation also states that HIDOE will provide a State-Furnished Materials Index and the most current available planning products through a forthcoming addendum. Offerors should not finalize a bid without reviewing that addendum and any later amendments.
Scope of Work
The contractor will review, validate, revise, complete, and integrate the State’s existing work across seven service areas: operational process development and continuity of operations; menu, production, and procurement transition planning; inventory, receiving, and materials management; training and workforce readiness; Phase I finishing-kitchen operational-readiness and rough-order-of-magnitude assessments; food safety, traceability, and HACCP compliance; and project management and implementation support.
The first Regional Kitchen is planned for the Leilehua-Mililani-Waialua complex area. Phase 1 Year 1 is planned to support twenty schools, including four initial finishing kitchens at Leilehua High School, Wahiawa Middle School, Wahiawa Elementary School, and Iliahi Elementary School. The operating model is intended to support later expansion to additional schools.
Bidder Qualifications
Offerors must satisfy restrictive experience requirements. At the time of bidding, the solicitation requires at least three years of documented experience supporting centralized or high-volume food-production operations of approximately 1,000 meals per day or greater, plus at least three years of demonstrated experience or in-depth professional expertise involving USDA Child Nutrition Programs such as the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program. It also requires at least three years of experience with high-volume commercial or institutional kitchen workflows and at least two years of facility start-up, commissioning, transition, or stabilization experience for a qualifying high-volume food-production facility.
The solicitation further requires comparable food-distribution and cold-chain logistics experience, customized SOP or operating-manual development, key personnel qualifications, and at least two comparable professional references. A two-page narrative is required to demonstrate the operational relationship among menu planning, USDA meal-pattern requirements, standardized recipes, production records, procurement, receiving, storage, inventory, food safety, production, and school meal service.
Contract and Submission Requirements
The contract begins upon full execution and is scheduled to end April 30, 2027, with one possible additional two-month extension by mutual written agreement. HIDOE does not publish a maximum contract amount in the current solicitation. Offerors must bid all required line items, including seven fixed service areas and an hourly rate for up to 120 hours of specialized operational training assistance.
Electronic bid materials must be submitted through HIePRO. In addition, hard copies of all original offer pages and other applicable documents specified in the solicitation must be received by the HIDOE Procurement and Contracts Branch within five working days after bid closing. The IFB states that failure to complete both the electronic submission and required hard-copy follow-up may be cause for rejection. A bid bond is not required.
The contractor must maintain required insurance, including $2,000,000 aggregate commercial general liability, $1,000,000 per occurrence, $1,000,000 automobile liability per accident, and statutory workers’ compensation coverage. State compliance requirements, wage certification, and Hawaii Compliance Express or equivalent documentation also apply.
Atlas Analysis
Atlas Opportunity Score: 82/100. This is a substantial statewide school-food-service implementation procurement with a clear operational-readiness mandate, measurable deliverables, and strong education-sector relevance. The opportunity is highly specialized and requires documented large-scale food-production, USDA child-nutrition, kitchen commissioning, food-safety, logistics, and SOP-development experience.
N9+ Fit: 0/100. Dr. Miltie Direct Vendor Fit: 0/100. QC Healthcare Fit: 0/100. The procurement is for institutional food-service operational readiness, not remote physical examination technology or healthcare delivery. Atlas should not force an N9+ or healthcare-service angle into this opportunity.
Next Action
Qualified food-service operational consultants and implementation teams should review the complete IFB, Additional Offer Pages, and Offer Page workbook; confirm all minimum experience, reference, insurance, wage, compliance, and staffing requirements; submit any solicitation questions by September 28; and monitor HIePRO for the promised State-Furnished Materials Index addendum and any subsequent amendments before finalizing a bid.
Verified source: State of Hawai‘i HIePRO solicitation B27000433 / HIDOE IFB D27-055.