Request for Proposal: Responses to Questions

Date: November 29, 2011

Healthy Communities Section
Sonoma County Department of Health Services
490 Mendocino Ave, Suite 202
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
(707) 565-6680

Request for Proposal #111411: SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education Contractor

Q: What is the budget maximum for the proposal?

A: Because this is a federal grant, we are not able to provide a maximum budget for the proposal. Proposers should submit separate budgets for work they seek to complete for the Department of Health Services (DHS) and Human Services Department (HSD). Budgets should include personnel estimates needed to complete the proposed work. Non-personnel/operating expenses and "other costs" should not exceed the amounts listed in the Section I (pages 8-10) of the request for proposals (RFP). Fringe benefits and indirect costs should not exceed the percentages listed. Budgets must be sealed in an envelope before submitting with the proposal. The budget documents will not be reviewed until the selection committee has chosen its top candidate.

Q: Is there a maximum budget for the personnel line item?

A: Because this is a federal grant, we are not able to provide a maximum budget for the personnel line item. Please see the response to the previous question for information on how to develop and submit a budget.

Q: What can you tell me about this initiative?

A: DHS and HSD seek to create a "sphere of influence" within target communities in order to promote and support healthy eating and physical activity through behavior, environmental and policy change.

Interventions will focus primarily on adults with children ages 2-11. Research shows that eating and pysical activity habits of children ages 2-11 are more easily influenced than adolescents. Because parents, as role models, play a significant role in promoting healthy eating and physical activity among their children, it is important to engage them directly. The secondary populations include homeless and seniors.

The project strategies will focus on seven communities: Cloverdale; Healdsburg; Petaluma Payran/McKinley; Boyes Hot Springs; and Roseland, Kawana Springs/South Park, and downtown neighborhoods in Santa Rosa.

Interventions will primarily include nutrition education classes emphasizing My Plate, Rethink Your Drink and Harvest of the Month messages. Classes will be provided to adults at the following qualifying sites who are eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or are currently receiving SNAP benefits:

• Proxy sites located in school catchment areas and/or qualifying neighborhoods. Proxy sites include food panties, Head Start facilities, public housing sites, CalFresh offices, TANF Job Readiness office, and homeless shelters.
• Other delivery sites located in qualifying neighborhoods. Other delivery sites include churches, farmer's markets, and community events.

Communities of Excellence (CX3) food environment assessments will also be conducted in the Santa Rosa, Petaluma Payran/McKinley, and Boyes Hot Springs neighborhoods. CX3 efforts will also focus on engaging residents, providing them with knowledge and skills to advocate for or make changes that support potential behavior change in their communities. DHS and HSD also plan to implement media campaigns and hold community events that will be advertised at the CalFresh offices and intervention sites.

Q: Please help me to understand how this effort is progressing forward, not getting wrapped up with the same benefactors?

A: Benefactors, or Contractors, will be selected by a selection committee. Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated using standard criteria developed and approved by the County of Sonoma Department of Health Services and Human Services Departments. The criteria can be found in Section M of the RFP (page 13).

Q: How can someone from the community (born and raised here in Sonoma County) have a say on some of these important issues?

A: DHS and HSD will begin convening County Nutrition Action Plan (C-NAP) Workgroup in October 2011 to assess gaps, assets and develop a strategic approach to coordinating U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Services funded interventions (such as SNAP Education) and additional nutrition education efforts in Sonoma County. Participation is open to all. Those who are interested should contact Alena Wall, Chair of the C-NAP Workgroup, at awall@nccwb.org.

Q: According to the RFP, it appears that an organization could apply for part or all of the objectives listed. An organization could just apply for just these two objectives:

• Completing at least 92 single-session nutrition education sessions in the community to reach a minimum of 754 unduplicated SNAP-Ed eligible adults and
• Completing at least 46 Rethink Your Drink education sessions in the community to reach a minimum of 376 unduplicated SNAP-Ed eligible adults in qualifying communities.

Could an agency only apply to conduct single-session nutrition education and Rethink Your Drink lessons at their own sites (for the minimum number of unduplicated participants assigned to those sites)? For example, could the CAP Head Start apply to conduct nutrition education and Rethink Your Drink lessons only at their Head Start sites listed in Appendix A or could the Food Bank apply to conduct nutrition education and Rethink Your Drink lessons only at their REFB sites listed in Appendix A?

A: Proposers can apply to conduct nutrition education at select sites (e.g., all churches and public housing sites) but must conduct all the required nutrition education sessions at each selected site (e.g., two single nutrition education sessions and one Rethink Your Drink education session at each site).

Q: In the budget directions it states, "submit a budget and budget justification for each proposed Scope of Services activity." Would you like a budget for each Objective or each Activity under the Objective?

A: No. Proposers should submit a modified scope of work that reflects the work they are seeking to complete. The accompanying budget need only include necessary personnel, non-personnel/operating expenses, and other costs to complete the proposed work. However, the budget justification for personnel should include a summary of the work to be completed by respective staff.