This combined synopsis/solicitation is an invitation for bid for fresh apples and pears for Domestic Food Assistance Programs; offers are requested and no separate written solicitation will be issued. The acquisition is set aside for small business concerns and incorporates provisions and clauses by reference, available electronically at www.acquisition.gov. Interested parties with concerns should first submit them to the Contracting Officer, who will make every effort to respond within 10 business days; Tier 1 engagement is not an official agency protest and does not suspend award or performance. If unresolved, a written agency protest may be filed with the Contracting Officer or the USDA Independent Review Authority, must include FAR 33.104-4(a)(3) information, and USDA strives to resolve agency-level protests within 35 business days. Awards or performance will be suspended during the protest period unless justified for urgent and compelling reasons or determined to be in the Government’s best interest, and protesters choosing the USDA forum agree not to file the same matter externally while the agency protest is pending.