The Defense Supply Center Philadelphia awarded Sysco Seattle in Kent, WA contracts worth up to $19.2 million to provide food service distribution and food and beverage support to US military facilities.

In August 2009, Sysco received a maximum $7.3 million firm-fixed price, indefinite quantity full-line food distribution contract modification to provide food services to US Army, US Air Force, and US Job Corps facilities in Alaska. That original contract [pdf] (SPM300-08-D-3160), awarded Aug 17/05, had a potential value of $29 million.

The recent contracts involve new awards for food service:

The Defense Supply Center in Philadelphia, PA is exercising the 1st option period on a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity/ indefinite-delivery contract (SPM300-08-D-3228) [pdf] worth up to $43.6 million for US Foodservice in Livermore, CA to provide full-line food distribution services.

Under the contract, US Foodservice provides full-line food distribution services to US military and US Job Corps facilities in northern California and Nevada.

The US facilities being served by US Foodservice include:

Darigold in Seattle, WA won a $13.2 million indefinite-delivery, requirements-type contract to provide fresh dairy products for resale at 12 Defense Commissary Agency’s commissaries in Alaska, Washington, Idaho, and Montana.

The Defense Commissary Agency in Fort Lee, VA operates commissaries providing groceries to US military personnel, retirees and their families. Authorized patrons purchase items at cost plus a 5% surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones…

US Foodservice’s Salem Division in Salem, MO received a maximum $27.4 million firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity, prime vendor contract to provide full-line food service distribution for US military services and federal civilian agency facilities in Missouri and Kansas.

The division will provide food service distribution to the following US facilities:

Dinner’s Ready!
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The US Defense Supply Center Philadelphia is exercising the 4th option year on a $64.5 million contract with US Foodservice Baltimore/ Washington in Severn, MD to provide food and beverages to US military facilities in Maryland, Washington, DC, Northern Virginia, and Delaware.

The 4th option year is worth a maximum of $19.4 million.

Under the contract, US Foodservice is providing food and beverages to the following US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, and US Coast Guard facilities…

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“Former Iraq Security Contractors Say Firm Bought Black Market Weapons, Swapped Booze for Rockets” says the ProPublica headline. They’re talking about a firm called Triple Canopy, a security contractor who replaced Blackwater (now Xe) as the US diplomatic service’s bodyguards in Iraq, and also had other contracts in theater to protect allied bases and installations, some of which were covered here.

Allegations and legal depositions state that the firm traded booze for weapons, and bought weapons and vehicles on the black market in Iraq between 2003-2004. At least one of those employees have expressed concern that the money used to buy these items may have ended up in the hands of Iraq’s Islamists, who were connected to criminal enterprises in Iraq at a number of different levels.

The article itself turns out to be more balanced than its headline might indicate, and the detailed accusations are linked to detailed responses; both are worth reading. Beginning with the revelation that significant responsibility for this state of affairs traces right back to the US State Department…

• State Department Self-Inflicted?
• Triple Canopy: Allegations & Approach
• Policy Issues
  Continue Reading… »

Napoleon on Horseback
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The great French military strategist and political leader Napoleon once said that “an army marches on its stomach.” This is as true today as it was when Napoleon’s troops were marching toward Moscow.

To ensure that the US Army and the other US services are well fed, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) regularly awards contracts, some small and some large, to contractors to supply food.

DLA recently awarded up to $70.6 million to 3 contractors to supply food to the US Army, US Navy, and US Air Force…

Naval Base San Diego

US Foodservice in La Mirada, CA received a maximum $61 million firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity/ indefinite-delivery sole source contract for full line food distribution to San Diego-based US Navy and resupply ships. The contract runs through Oct 3/10. The contracting activity is the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia in Pennsylvania (SPM300-09-D-3312).

This contract is an extension of a previously awarded contract…

Chopping Strawberries

Sodexho Management in Gaithersburg, MD received a $78.9 million contract modification to provide food services to the US Marine Corps and manage and operate their mess halls in the Eastern US. To date, the overall contract (M00027-02-C-0001) value is $508 million.

Sodexho also operates USMC mess halls in the Western US under a similar contract (M00027-02-C-0002). The company received a $71.6 million contract modification for the Western US food service and mess hall management. To date, this contract value is $464.6 million. In total, the contractor operates 66 USMC mess halls across CONUS.

In the Eastern US, Sodexho operates mess halls at the following USMC facilities…

Dinner’s Ready!
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North Carolina Business Enterprise Program (BEP) in Raleigh, NC received a $13.9 million cost-plus-award-fee contract for full food services at Fort Bragg, NC. The contract covers food service at the fort through Aug 31/12. For the contract, 1 bid was solicited with 1 bid received. Mission & Installation Contracting Command at Fort Bragg manages the contract (W91247-09-C-0035).

BEP is a program of the North Carolina Division of Services for the Blind to provide employment opportunities to the blind and visually impaired citizens of North Carolina through the operation of vending and on-site food service locations throughout the state…