REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
August 4, 2026
FROM
ARLENE MOLINA, Director, Preschool Services Department
SUBJECT
Title
Contract with Freshlunches Inc. dba Unity Meals to provide Food Services for Head Start and State Preschool Programs
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve contract with Freshlunches Inc. dba Unity Meals to provide food services for children enrolled in Head Start and State Preschool programs, for a total Contract amount of $5,583,333, for the period of August 5, 2026 through August 4, 2027.
(Presenter: Arlene Molina, Director, 945-6478)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The total budget of $5,583,333, of which 86% ($4,801,666) is federally funded and 14% ($781,667) is funded by the State of California Department of Education, Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Preschool Services Department (PSD) 2026-27 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
PSD operates both federal and state preschool programs (Programs). These Programs provide education, health, nutrition, cognitive, social/emotional, physical growth and development, and parent involvement services for children ages zero to five years with the goal of increasing family engagement and the school readiness of young children in economically disadvantaged families. Head Start and State Preschool programs have been operating in the County since 1965. Since 1999, PSD has provided these Programs through a combination of direct and contracted services.
PSD provides meals, which include breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, through contracted vendors. The recommended contract will allow PSD to provide daily meals to approximately 1,600 children enrolled in the Programs countywide at an average annual cost of $3,490 per child.
Approval of this item will allow PSD to continue to utilize Freshlunches Inc. dba Unity Meals (Unity Meals) to provide food services for children enrolled in the Programs while conducting a new procurement for these services.
Unity Meals performance will be monitored by review of monthly reports to ensure compliance with the administrative, fiscal, and program requirements of the contract. A Program Quality Specialist will conduct a minimum of three site visits per year to ensure meals served comply with CACFP established standards. Unity Meals will cooperate with the County in the monitoring and evaluation of the contract and comply with all established reporting requirements. The contract may be terminated without cause by the County with 45 days’ written notice.
PROCUREMENT
Purchasing supports the non-competitive procurement of food services for children enrolled in Head Start and State Preschool programs, based on the previous competitively procured agreement with Unity Meals, as the vendor has the existing operational capacity to continue services without a transition period while PSD completes a new competitive procurement. PSD requests to continue services with Unity Meals for one year. The previous agreement expired on July 31, 2026, and there has been no interruption in meal services as sufficient food stock has been available to meet program needs during the brief interim period. Continued food services are necessary to maintain compliance with CACFP and Head Start Performance Standards while the department completes the Request for Proposals process. PSD anticipates advancing the new procurement to the contracting phase in April 2027.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by Human Services (Lisa Rivas-Ordaz, Contracts Manager, 388-0222) on July 8, 2026; County Counsel (Adam Ebright, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on July 21, 2026; Purchasing (Ariel Gill, Supervising Buyer, 387-2070) on July 21, 2026; and County Finance and Administration (Allegra Pajot, Administrative Analyst, 388-0218) on July 21, 2026.