Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Department of Education, acting through the Superintendent of Education, shall have the authority to enter into contracts of not greater than three years for the storage and distribution of United States Department of Agriculture commodities distributed through the Child Nutrition Food Program including regular food distribution and for storage only for the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program. All such contracts shall be let by free and open competitive bidding, or sealed bids, to the lowest responsible bidder.