RPS and Equalis Group intend to bring this Program to other school districts within and outside of the current geographic reach of the current RPS membership. This includes Colorado and any school district across the country who elects to utilize this program, subject to their local guidelines and regulations. Not all schools or districts will require the services. However, all facilities will have the opportunity to participate.
RPS is seeking vendors who can provide comprehensive vending solutions to school districts through one or more of three service models:
1. À La Carte Vending Model - Providing supplemental food and beverage options through traditional vending machines that comply with USDA Smart Snacks standards
2. Automatic Cafeteria Vending with Reimbursable Meals - Providing vending machines capable of dispensing complete reimbursable meals that meet NSLP requirements
6
3. Blended Approach - Combining aspects of both à la carte vending and reimbursable meal vending
RPS seeks proposals that allow vendors to submit responses for any solutions suited to their product and/or service capabilities, including but not limited to:
1. Full-service vending operations (vendor-owned and operated)
2. District-owned machines with vendor-supplied products and services
3. Any alternative, blended, or hybrid structure
Vendors must disclose:
• Proposed commission rate (if applicable)
• Ownership and maintenance responsibilities
• Pricing structure for products and services
• Cost structure for applicable maintenance, warranties, replacement parts, etc.
All products must comply with USDA Smart Snacks in School and applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
The program will focus on maximizing service quality, machine uptime, and compliance with all relevant regulations. RPS anticipates the following timeline:
• Year 1 (2025/26 school year) - Implementation of vending services with initial RPS members, establishing baseline operations and ensuring compliance with nutritional standards.
• Year 2 & beyond (2026/27+ school year) - Expansion of the program to additional school districts within and outside Colorado, ongoing evaluation of service quality, and continuous improvement of offerings.
For the 2025/2026 School Year, estimated spend may be up to $300K – $400K on vending machines and products, with a maximum contract value of $4.9M by year five. It is important to consider that the estimates in this section are based on a school-owned and operated model; however, the information is also intended to guide Vendor responses that are based on alternative models that differ in ownership of machines and products. Factors that influence actual spending include contract adoption, geography, budgets, customization, service levels, the vending model (i.e., school-owned and operated model, full-service vendor model, or an alternative model), and revenue potential. To achieve this value, RPS and Equalis Group will focus on expanding the program to additional school districts and cooperatives and encouraging current districts and cooperatives to utilize the awarded Vendor(s). The first year will see modest growth with expansion in subsequent years, mainly through the addition of new school districts as well as other cooperatives which are anticipated merging into this program.
While it is not a requirement to be awarded, to achieve these growth numbers, the awarded Vendor(s) must collaborate with Equalis Group and RPS to support this growth.
