Food Truck Academy

The City of St. Petersburg seeks a qualified vendor to develop and deliver the Food Truck Academy, a workforce and small-business training program designed to prepare City residents and aspiring entrepreneurs to launch and sustain mobile food businesses. The selected vendor will provide curriculum development, instructional materials, structured training services, technical assistance, and outcome reporting.

Background

The City of St. Petersburg Economic & Workforce Development Department is committed to advancing economic mobility, workforce readiness, and small-business development opportunities for residents. Mobile food vending can provide an accessible pathway into entrepreneurship while creating jobs and neighborhood economic activity.

The Food Truck Academy is intended to address common barriers to entry by providing structured, high-quality training in business readiness, regulatory compliance, financial sustainability, and operational excellence. The selected vendor must demonstrate the capacity to translate these goals into a practical training program that supports participants from concept development through launch readiness.

The Food Truck Academy aims to:

• Complete a Food Truck Academy curriculum aligned with workforce development and small-business outcomes.
• Increase participant knowledge of food-truck concept development, permitting, food safety, and legal requirements.
• Improve participant financial literacy, budgeting, pricing, and operational readiness.
• Increase participant preparedness to complete business plans, secure permits, and move toward launch.
• Expand entrepreneurial capacity and job-creation potential among Academy participants.

Project Details

• Reference ID: Quote- 26 - 276
• Department: Community Impact
• Department Head: Director (Director)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-07-06T19:00:00.000Z
• Answers Posted By: 2026-07-07T21:00:00.000Z
• Pre-Proposal Meeting: 2026-06-18T17:00:00.000Z — Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/93827446670 Meeting ID: 938 2744 6670 One tap mobile +13052241968,,93827446670# US +13017158592,,93827446670# US (Washington DC)

Meetings & Milestones

Evaluation Criteria

• Qualifications and Experience of Firm and Staff (35 pts) —

  This section evaluates the Proposer’s qualifications, relevant experience, and capacity to successfully perform the required services. Scoring will be based on the firm’s history of similar projects, technical expertise, organizational structure, key personnel credentials, and demonstrated past performance.

• Project Approach (35 pts) —

  This section evaluates the Proposer’s proposed methodology for delivering the services, including processes used on similar projects and the approach envisioned for this engagement. Scoring will be based on the clarity and feasibility of the project plan, schedule, key activities, deliverables, and the proposed coordination process with the City’s Project Manager. 

• Cost Analysis (20 pts) —

  This section evaluates the Proposer's completed cost analysis and proposed fee for the project. Scoring will be based on the completeness, clarity, and reasonableness of the pricing information provided. 

• Business Enterprise Program Outreach and Utilization (10 pts) —

  This section evaluates the Proposer’s status as an SBE, MBE, WBE, or combination, and the firm’s demonstrated commitment to outreach, inclusion, and utilization of small and minority-owned businesses in performance of the contract. Scoring will be based on documented outreach efforts, planned mentoring and capacity-building initiatives, and processes for inclusive subcontracting. 

Submission Requirements

• Is the Vendor registered with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations (Sunbiz) in accordance with Florida Statute §607.1501? (required)
• Is the Vendor a City of St. Petersburg certified SBE? (required) —

  If you have submitted an application and it is pending, please send an email to osd@stpete.org. In the subject line- provide the solicitation number and due date. 

• Is the Vendor a City of St. Petersburg certified MWBE? (required) —

  If you have submitted an application and it is pending, please send an email to osd@stpete.org. In the subject line- provide the solicitation number and due date. 

• Address for Headquarters location. (required)
• Address of office providing service, if different than above.
• Signature Authority (required) —

  Please provide a letter certifying who is authorized to execute the agreement on behalf of Company. 

• Describe the nature of company’s business. (required)
• Year the Company was Founded. (required)
• Number of years company has operated under the current name. (Note: if the company has modified its corporate structure since its founding (e.g., from a corporation to an LLC), you may list the number of years the company was founded under the original corporate structure). (required)
• Company’s bank of record. (required)
• Describe any litigation that the vendor has been a party to in the last five years where it was alleged that the offeror breached a contract for similar services with a client/customer and describe any contracts for similar services that the vendor failed to complete for similar services. Describe the facts and status of any such litigation or contract. (required) —

  Type N/A if not applicable.

• Identify any government entity that has debarred or otherwise prohibited the vendor from responding to its competitive solicitations within the last five years. Describe the circumstances surrounding such debarment or other prohibition. (required) —

  Type N/A if not applicable.

• The vendor acknowledges that it has read, understands and will comply with Florida Statute §448.095 pertaining to required use of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security E-Verify system. Should the City terminate the contract with the vendor for violation of §448.095, vendor may not be awarded a contract with the City for at least one year. (required)
• The vendor acknowledges that its quote response is subject to Public Records laws (Chapter 119, Florida Statutes). (required)
• Will vendor allow other agencies to piggyback the contract if awarded? (required)
• The vendor hereby makes all certifications required by Florida Statute §287.135 related to scrutinized companies. (required)
• Is vendor required to provide any disclosures to the City regarding a foreign country of concern pursuant to Florida Statutes §286.101 (3)(a)? (required)
• If YES, please provide the disclosure(s) in accordance with the requirements of Florida Statute §286.101 (3)(a).
• The vendor certifies that it takes no exceptions to the agreement attached. (required) —

  The City has deemed the following contract terms to be non-negotiable. Vendor is advised that if it wishes to take exception to any of the terms contained or referenced in the contract, it must explicitly identify the term and the exception in its response to the solicitation. Vendor's stated exception to a non-negotiable contract term may disqualify it from consideration: 

  1. Indemnification.
  2. Insurance coverage.
  3. Governing Law and Venue.
  4. The City will not agree to the addition of any provision requiring a dispute resolution process or method, including but not limited to binding arbitration.
  5. The City will not agree to the addition of any provision waiving any remedy available to the City in law or equity (including but limited to the right to a jury trial)
  6. The City will not agree to the addition of any provision providing for the award of attorney’s fees to the prevailing party.
  7. The City will not agree to the addition of any provision limiting the liability of Vendor to a maximum dollar amount.
• If exceptions are taken to the attached agreement, please provide.
• Has the vendor identified any trade secrets or confidential information in its response? (required)
• If yes to the above question, please upload your redacted proposal here.
• I currently have the required insurance coverage as specified in the solicitation and will be able to provide a Certificate of Insurance if awarded. (required)
• References (required) —

  Please download the below document, complete, and upload.

• Submittal Documents (required) —

  Upload all other documents relating to this solicitation. Including but not limited to proposals/statements of qualifications, applicable bonds, warranty information, etc. 

• Responsible and Responsive Construction Questions (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Living Wage Questions (required) —

  Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• What type of project is this? (required)
• Number of Awards (required)
• Lowest Cost or Evaluation Criteria (required)
• Will background checks be needed? (required)
• What type of background check? (required)
• Will subcontractors/subconsultants be allowed? (required)
• What Business Enterprise Program Applies to this project? (required)
• Will a performance and payment bond be needed? (required)
• Is this a quote? (required)