Subsistence

The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support Subsistence is a sub-agency within the Department of Defense that procures food products, food-service equipment, operational rations, and related subsistence items for military dining facilities, field feeding operations, and deployed forces worldwide.

The agency has awarded 9,688,350 federal contracts cumulatively since September 2002, with a combined potential value of $59.81 billion and combined dollars obligated of $68.18 billion. Recent activity shows 1,047,544 awards in 2022, 1,074,960 in 2023, 957,247 in 2024, 1,020,225 in 2025, and 358,688 year-to-date in 2026. The most recent award closed on April 22, 2026. The agency has engaged 1,892 distinct prime contractors across the portfolio lifetime.

Competitive concentration is moderately concentrated by award count and highly fragmented by potential value over the last five years. Frank M. Gargiulo & Son, Inc. leads by award count with 324,189 awards and $436.5 million combined potential value, followed by Vermilion Valley Produce Inc. with 319,141 awards and $190 million combined potential value, and Senn Bros., Inc. with 221,975 awards and $156.2 million combined potential value. These top five primes account for 26 percent of recent awards but only 2 percent of combined potential value, indicating that the agency transacts through numerous small-dollar awards across a broad vendor base. Royal Food Service Co., LLC, with 207,843 awards and $164.7 million combined potential value, also ranks among the top five by value.

Set-aside activity is minimal: 96 percent of awards carry no set-aside designation, while 4 percent are Total Small Business awards; Competitive 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, Woman-Owned Small Business, and HUBZone awards each represent less than 0.1 percent of the portfolio.

Recent solicitations reflect the agency's core mission mix. RFQs for individual food-service equipment items—dishwashing machines, coffee makers, ovens, refrigerators—dominate the near-term pipeline, with delivery requirements ranging from five to 180 days. A solicitation for Food Service Equipment (SPE3SE26Q0312) closed on August 17, 2026, offering a firm fixed-price unrestricted acquisition that includes installation services. A 5-year indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity solicitation for Heater Trays (SPE3S1-26-R-0009) with a July 31, 2026 sources-sought deadline seeks product demonstration models and targets the Unitized Group Ration Express program. The agency is also soliciting fresh milk and dairy products for regional zones (New Jersey and New York with a due date of August 6, 2026) and bread and bakery products for Washington State (closed July 24, 2026). An OCONUS Subsistence Prime Vendor solicitation for Southern Europe, Northern Africa, and Western Africa (SPE300-26-R-0011) with a September 9, 2026 due date seeks unrestricted full-line food service support through a 5-year tiered indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contract evaluated on best-value trade-off. A sources-sought notice for dehydrated items in the UGR Heat and Serve program signals interest in suppliers capable of meeting surge and sustainment requirements for increased quantity and accelerated delivery.