Canada's food guide – reflecting diversity: multicultural review and resource development

Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN)

Title: Canada's food guide – reflecting diversity: multicultural review and resource development

Solicitation Number: 1000227331

1. The Purpose and Explanation of an ACAN

An Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) allows Health Canada to post a notice for no less than fifteen (15) calendar days, indicating to the supplier community that a goods, services or construction contract will be awarded to a pre-identified contractor. If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date, a Statement of Capabilities that meets the minimum requirements identified in the ACAN, the Contracting Authority may then proceed to award a contract to the pre-identified contractor.

2. Rights of Suppliers

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the services or goods described in this ACAN may submit a Statement of Capabilities demonstrating how they meet the advertised requirement. This Statement of Capabilities must be provided via e-mail only to the contact person identified in Section 12 of the Notice on or before the closing date and time of the Notice. If the Bidder can clearly demonstrate they possess the required capabilities, the requirement will be opened to electronic or traditional bidding processes.

3. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier
Quell

153 Brookside Avenue

Toronto, Ontario

M6S 4G8

4. Definition of Requirements or Expected Results

The new Canada’s food guide, launched in 2019, includes online tools and resources tailored to a variety of audiences. The new food guide emphasizes the importance of food skills and currently provides recipes and videos to support healthy eating. Since the launch of the new guide, the recipes have become a popular resource for people living in Canada to support them in implementing the dietary guidance. The recipes are also regularly used on Health Canada’s social media accounts, and in the food guide monthly e-newsletter. Health Canada is also adding articles that will complement the recipes, and help bring the food guide to life and into the kitchens and homes of people living in Canada, helping them apply dietary guidance in their everyday lives.

Although existing recipes and food skills articles represent a broad range of meal types and food preparation skills, it is recognized that more recipes and articles are needed to keep the content fresh and attract and entice more people to cook more often and encourage healthy eating behaviours and habits. By focusing on developing recipes and food skill articles that reflect a wide range of cultures and food traditions, Health Canada can ensure that the flexible nature of the food guide appeals to more people in Canada through its conscious efforts to consider and support diversity and inclusion. Representing more examples of food and recipes will help reflect the diverse histories and cultures from coast to coast to coast. To do so, it is important that Health Canada develop these resources with qualified experts in the food community who possess skills and experience in recipe development and food education, and who also represent a diversity of backgrounds. Developing such tools and resources for the food guide can help break down barriers for some in using the food guide, and by reflecting a variety of cultural preferences will increase uptake and acceptance of the healthy eating recommendations because people will be able to see themselves, their community and their culture reflected in the new Canada’s food guide.

Through this contract, an organization that values and reflects Canada’s culinary diversity and that has expertise and experience in developing content that is accessible and relevant to our multicultural population will contribute to Health Canada’s objectives of increasing awareness and use of the food guide in Canada. To do so, Health Canada requires the services of an organization that represents a diverse group of highly qualified chefs who also have experience and expertise in fostering inclusion through food, and advocating and educating on healthy multicultural foods. The organization will be needed to review existing food guide web content through a lens of diversity and inclusion and make recommendations to ensure it is relevant, accessible, and respectful of cultural diversity aligning with the multicultural fabric of Canada. Following the review, the organization will recommend and develop complementary content to help fill identified gaps. The new content, which will include recipes and food skills articles, will help support understanding of Canada’s food guide recommendations, making them more relevant, practical and applicable to a greater number of people living in Canada. The new content will also support the less prescriptive and flexible approach of the new food guide, specifically how the healthy eating recommendations can be applied across diverse cultures and food preferences. Overall, building capacity, sharing knowledge and understanding food across a variety of cultures can benefit us as an institution, through our dietary guidance and ultimately our population and contribute to improving our physical health and and social well-being.

Specially, this contract includes the following components:

A. Multicultural review

Objective: To review Canada’s food guide consumer-facing content through a lens of multiculturalism and diversity, to ensure that the food guide’s healthy eating information is relevant and applicable to all people living in Canada.

• Assess existing content (approximately 60 webpages and 100 recipes) for relevance in Canada, including a variety of cultural groups, newcomers to Canada, etc.
• Identify any gaps in the content (e.g. food traditions and examples, recipes, styles of eating etc.)
• Challenge assumptions and biases (e.g. assumptions around habits, norms, values surrounding food and eating)
• Provide recommendations on how to make the existing content more relevant
• Provide suggestions for additional food guide resources and tools (e.g. webpages, images, videos, initiatives, campaigns etc.)
• Provide feedback on positive elements of existing resources/content
• Provide suggestions for national organizations/groups we should consider working with to develop new tools and resources or to amplify our messages/raise awareness and uptake of the food guide

B. Recipe development

Objective: a) To identify cultural cuisines that chefs, food educators and advocates recommend to help foster meaningful inclusion and uptake of the food guide and 2) to provide recommendations/examples for recipes, and create recipes using Canada’s food guide recipe criteria.

• 15-20 recipes that follow the Canada’s food guide recipe criteria
• (4) four professional, stylized photos for each recipe

C. Food skills articles

Objective: To fill gaps identified in resources by writing articles and related material providing practical knowledge and tips to help all people living in Canada develop key food skills, with particular emphasis on those required to prepare CFG recipes, in order to cook more often. The articles should resonate with multicultural populations and reflect considerations across cultures.

• 8 food skills articles approximately 500 words in length
• 2-3 professional, stylized photos for each article

5. Minimum Requirements

Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a Statement of Capabilities that it meets the following minimum requirements:

1. The proposed supplier must possess the following experience and capabilities:
   1. Must represent at least seven (7) chefs from groups who have historically been underrepresented, including chefs in the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) and LGBTQ2S+ community, and who meet the requirements outlined below;
   2. Must have experience leading projects and initiatives that combine food skills and expertise with the perspective of multiculturalism, diversity, equity and inclusiveness;
   3. Must have experience and capabilities in project management, specifically coordination of chefs, recipe development and testing, article development and editing, and production of professional, stylized photography;
   4. Must demonstrate the capacity to meet the proposed work requirements by April 16, 2021.
2. The proposed supplier must supply chefs who each meet the following requirements:
   1. Do not currently promote foods or drinks, or be in partnership or contracts with food and drink industries, that are not in line with Canada’s food guide (e.g. highly processed foods, alcohol etc.)
   2. No previous statements or social media posts are in conflict with public service values as expressed in the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector or stated positions of the Government of Canada or the department.
   3. A minimum of ten (10) years of experience working in the food community as a chef, educator, blogger, author and/or advocate, including experience in recipe development, food content creation and promotion, specifically with the goal of supporting diversity and inclusion through their work with food.

6. Reason for Non-Competitive Award

Section 6 of the Government Contracts Regulations contains four exceptions that permit the contracting authority to set aside the requirement to solicit bids. For the proposed procurement, the following exception applies:

(d): Only One Person or Firm is capable of performing the contract.

7. Ownership of Intellectual Property

Ownership of any Intellectual Property arising out of the proposed contract will vest with the Crown.

8. Cost estimate of the proposed contract
The estimated value of the contract is $91,530.00 (GST/HST included).

9. Period of the Proposed Contract

The contract period shall be from date of contract award until April 16, 2021.

1. Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, services or construction services described in the ACAN may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this notice on or before the closing date of this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.

1. Closing date for a submission of a statement of capabilities
   The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is January 29, 2021 at 2:00 p.m.
2. Inquiries and submission of statements of capabilities

   Inquiries and statements of capabilities are to be directed to:
   Yvonne Murphy, Senior Procurement & Contracting Officer
   E-mail: yvonne.murphy@canada.ca