Rural Food Lockers

Amendment 2 attached. The Department of Veterans Affairs Food Security Office’s (FSO) vision is to create an environment where all Veterans are food and nutrition secure. The mission of the Food Security Office is to provide resources to VA healthcare systems through partnerships, data management, and research and education to support an interdisciplinary approach to ensure Veteran food security. FSO is organizationally situated within the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Clinical Services.

VHA FSO is partnering with the Office of Rural Health (ORH) to expand food locker programing, to be known as NouRISH (Nutrition, Resources, and Integrated Support for Health). FSO is advancing a West Palm Beach proof of concept to expand food locker programming across rural and highly rural sites. The Enterprise-Wide Initiative (EWI) uses an interdisciplinary framework designed to connect Veterans with reliable food resources and comprehensive wraparound services that address health related social needs.

The Contractor shall furnish, deliver and install the food lockers and provide required software, warranty and maintenance for operational function to VA Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) or other VA owned facilities. The contractor must furnish all materials, transportation, and expertise necessary to provide a properly installed and functioning smart locker food system.

The contractor shall consult with the site point of contact to assess the readiness of the proposed installation site to ensure safety and accessibility, including verification of adequate electrical outlets. Delivery and site specifications will be established at the order level. See attached.