About Us

P.O.W.E.R. Buying Group RFP Information and Services

• The current Request for Proposal (RFP) lead agency is the School District of Osceola County (SDOC)
• US Foods is the awarded distributor for pricing, distribution and storage of the main line food and supply products for members
• Most members utilize US Foods for the distribution and storage of USDA Brown Box Foods
• Click on “Member Profiles” to see all member districts and information about their programs

Member Benefits and Services

• Preparation of food and supply product specifications that facilitate compliance with all current USDA and state guidance for the USDA meal patterns and Dietary Standards
• Solicitation of product pricing with a large number of vendors/brokers interested in working with The P.O.W.E.R. Buying Group (PBG)
• Increased purchasing power of a large coop results in lower prices
• Networking with many program directors/administrators sharing their expertise in many aspects of program administration
• Work with state agency procurement team to aid members to maintain compliance and prepare for state reviews
• Revaluation of products as guidelines are updated, products are reformulated, etc.
• Assistance with resolving members’ product “incidents”, receiving credits or product replacements as needed
• Long term distributor relationship promotes stability— the SDOC Request for Proposal (RFP) contract is effective July 2014 through June 2019
• Access to useful information on the Members Only section of the PBG website
• Access to the most current information on PBG-awarded products, guidance updates, policies/procedures via the posted minutes of the Executive Committee conference calls and meetings
• Members and vendors may participate in the online, interactive process to request additional products to be considered for competitive pricing and addition to the awarded products
• Access to uploads of the current food product nutrition information to menu viewer software such as Nutrislice, MealViewer, etc.
• Detailed information on all PBG-awarded products available to be viewed and/or downloaded by members. This information includes:
  • Nutrition information per serving
  • Meal pattern crediting information
  • Allergen information
  • Packaging information
  • Picture of the products
  • Smart Snack Compliance
  • Complete specification files

Questions or Interested in Joining? Contact the PBG Executive Director at: powerbuyinggroup@gmail.com