NIGP 04540: Flatware and Cutlery, Household

NIGP 04540 Flatware and Cutlery, Household is an Item code covering eating and serving utensils procured by state and local governments. The recent solicitation activity under this code reflects procurement through cooperative purchasing vehicles rather than direct institutional purchasing. Sourcewell, a State of Minnesota local government unit and service cooperative, issued RFP #061626 on May 12, 2026 to establish a contracting solution for law enforcement equipment with response due June 16, 2026. While the RFP title emphasizes law enforcement equipment broadly, the cooperative framework allows participating entities—including county governments, school districts, nonprofit organizations, tribal governments, and public entities across the United States and Canada—to draw on established contracts for goods and services needed by their operations, which would include mess kit and dining facility supplies. Sourcewell structured this procurement to serve thousands of governmental agencies and public entities through a participating addendum mechanism, enabling flexibility in how contracted solutions are deployed across member jurisdictions.

The cooperative purchasing model dominates recent activity under this code, with Sourcewell's multi-jurisdictional RFP representing the primary mechanism for establishing supply contracts. The procurement encompasses Franklin County, Grant County, Grays Harbor County, Chelan County, and Yakima County in Washington state, alongside numerous other jurisdictions nationwide and in Canada. Vendors pursuing this code should note that Sourcewell requires account creation on its Procurement Portal (proportal.sourcewell-mn.gov) for document access, question submission, and bid delivery; general inquiries route to Mari Vielma at rfp@sourcewell-mn.gov or 888-894-1930. The solicitation does not identify specific award values, budget ranges, or set-aside designations in available documentation, and no incumbent vendors are named.