NIGP 16545: Food Containers, Storage, Commercial Use

NIGP 16545 Food Containers, Storage, Commercial Use is an Item code purchasing cafeteria smallwares, food service equipment, and related non-food supplies across school districts, with state and local education agencies as the dominant buyers. State and local governments solicit under this code for storage containers, food preparation equipment (cutting boards, dishers, thermometers, pan grabbers), serving trays, protective equipment, mobile racks, refrigeration units, walk-in coolers and freezers, convection ovens, and ice machines—substantially all items needed to operate K-12 food service programs. Recent solicitations emphasize NSF and UL certification, FDA Food Code and ADA compliance, and USDA Buy American preferences where federal child nutrition program funding applies. School districts issue the vast majority of notices under the code, typically through their child nutrition or food service departments; issuing bodies include independent school districts in Texas (Klein ISD, Temple ISD, Rockwood R-VI), regional and municipal districts across Massachusetts and Georgia, and state-level cooperative purchasing vehicles such as FREC serving multiple Massachusetts districts simultaneously. The Seminole County School Board in Florida also contracts for kitchen equipment through multi-vendor percentage-discount catalogs. Geographic activity concentrates in Texas, Massachusetts, Georgia, and Florida, with representation across other states as well.

Representative recent opportunities include the Commonwealth of Massachusetts posting FY27 Non-Food Cafeteria supplies serving multiple school districts in Athol-Royalston Regional, Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical, Dudley/Charlton Regional, and elementary schools across the state via FREC, with bids due May 11, 2026; Rockwood R-VI School District (Missouri) issuing a competitive IFB for Child Nutrition Services Small Equipment approximately 100 line items across food storage, kitchen utensils, and specialized food preparation tools with bids due April 28, 2026; Henry County Schools (Georgia) posting an IFB for cafeteria smallwares to 52 school nutrition locations with a May 5, 2026 deadline and weekly as-needed delivery; Temple Independent School District (Texas) requesting proposals for kitchen equipment and fixtures for a new high school cafeteria including walk-in coolers, refrigeration, and serving lines with delivery by October 2026, deadline March 25, 2026; Klein ISD (Texas) seeking high-volume groceries and supplies across 133 campuses with an April 3, 2026 deadline; and the School Board of Seminole County (Florida) awarding percentage-discount catalogs for commercial kitchen equipment with an estimated annual procurement volume of approximately $1,500,000. Evaluation criteria typically weight price heavily (40–70 points), with secondary scoring on quality, vendor qualifications, delivery logistics, and warranty.