NYS WIC Online Nutrition Education

The New York State Department of Health, Division of Nutrition, Bureau of Supplemental Food Programs is soliciting interest from qualified organizations to provide an online nutrition education platform for the New York State Women, Infants, and Children program. WIC nutrition education is a federally mandated program benefit, and the New York State WIC Program serves approximately 464,000 participants each month through 85 local providers, including hospitals, local health departments, and community-based organizations, at more than 300 service sites statewide. The proposed platform will supplement nutrition education currently provided through in-person and virtual services at WIC local agencies and must operate as a secure, web-based customer portal compatible with the New York State WIC Management Information System, currently NYWIC. The selected organization will develop, implement, and manage an online nutrition education platform for WIC participants, Department staff, and local agency staff. The platform must provide round-the-clock access to participant-centered lessons, videos, resources, recipes, and downloadable educational materials and support more than 500,000 users. Lessons must address current health and nutrition topics for populations including prenatal, breastfeeding, and postpartum participants and caregivers of infants and children through age five. Content must be culturally diverse, written at an eighth-grade literacy level or below, available in multiple languages including English and Spanish, and incorporate interactive tools for demonstrating competency and verifying lesson completion. The platform must support access through iOS, Android, and Microsoft operating systems on phones, tablets, and personal computers. The platform must support configurable user roles, unique participant logins connected to WIC Household IDs, staff access appropriate to assigned roles, reporting and monitoring functions, lesson evaluations, and Department testing. It must interface with the NYS WIC MIS so that completed lesson information can be requested at least every five minutes and must support the expected XML payload structure and request format. Required information includes lesson start and end times, unique lesson identifiers, lesson names, WIC Household IDs, and participant responses to lesson questions. The organization must also provide technical assistance within 24 hours of an inquiry, marketing materials for approximately 85 local agencies, and training for approximately 1,700 staff. Lessons must be capable of being tailored or modified for New York State at no additional cost. Eligible applicants must be public or private not-for-profit organizations, such as organizations that are tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Applicants must have at least three years of experience developing and maintaining an online nutrition education platform, at least three years of experience working with administrative aspects of state government programs, and at least three years of experience developing and updating online nutrition education lessons. Experience acquired concurrently is acceptable. Funding is contingent upon the availability of federal funds from the United States Department of Agriculture. Approximately $140,000 annually in WIC funding is anticipated for the five-year period from October 1, 2027 through September 30, 2032, for approximately $700,000 over the life of the grant. The solicitation does not state a required applicant cost share or matching contribution. Interested organizations must submit a cover sheet, checklist, Attachment A Minimum Qualifications Verification, and an optional additional document of no more than five pages demonstrating their ability to satisfy the minimum qualifications and provide the requested online nutrition education services. The submission must be assembled and electronically submitted as one PDF document to BSFP-FMS.Procure@health.ny.gov using the subject line SOI #20838 - NYS WIC Online Nutrition Education. The solicitation states that responses should not exceed five pages inclusive of attachments, appendices, or other supplemental material. Attachment A requests verification of qualifying experience, including the period of engagement, a brief description of each engagement, and a description of qualifying experience. Application information may be subject to verification. Application materials may also become public records under the New York State Freedom of Information Law, and applicants seeking confidential treatment for proprietary information must clearly and specifically designate the applicable portions. The solicitation was issued August 25, 2026, and applications are due September 29, 2026 at 4:00 PM Eastern Time. No Letter of Intent is required. Written questions are due by 4:00 PM on September 1, 2026 and must be emailed to BSFP-FMS.Procure@health.ny.gov using the solicitation subject line. Responses to timely questions are expected to be posted on or about September 15, 2026. The primary contact identified in the solicitation is Danielle Bunney, Bureau of Supplemental Food Programs, at BSFP-FMS.Procure@health.ny.gov and 518-402-7093. Elizabeth Antini is identified as the submission contact at the same email address and telephone number. The source materials list an anticipated award date of July 1, 2027, while the solicitation identifies a contract term of October 1, 2027 through September 30, 2032. Funding remains contingent on available appropriations and the number of eligible respondents, and the Department reserves the right to withdraw the solicitation or issue a competitive procurement if interested and eligible parties exceed what available funding can reasonably accommodate.

Clearly document all three mandatory three-year experience qualifications because submitted information may be verified. Use Attachment A to connect each qualifying engagement directly to the applicable minimum requirement. Demonstrate the ability to satisfy the detailed platform requirements, including participant-centered nutrition education, NYS WIC MIS compatibility, multilingual and accessible content, reporting, technical assistance, marketing, and staff training. Clearly and specifically designate any application material claimed as proprietary because blanket assertions of proprietary treatment will not be accepted.