NIGP 385: Foods, Frozen

NIGP 385 Foods, Frozen is a Class code governing state and local procurement of shelf-stable frozen prepared foods, dairy products, proteins, fruits, vegetables, and related items that support child nutrition programs, detention facilities, park concessions, and institutional food service operations. School districts represent the dominant buying base, with recent solicitations from Stockton Unified School District (California), Granite School District (Utah), Klein ISD (Texas), Garland ISD (Texas), and Meriden Public Schools (Connecticut) issuing RFPs and IFBs for frozen pizzas, dairy products, entrees, snacks, and cupped fruits to serve multiple school sites under federal National School Lunch Program and Child and Adult Care Food Program funding. State agencies including the California Department of Highway Patrol and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection procure meal provision and sack lunch services; county and municipal governments including Beaufort County (South Carolina), Broward County (Florida), and the City of New London (Connecticut) solicit frozen food items for detention centers and park concessions. Vendors compete on price (typically weighted 30–70 percent), product quality and compliance with USDA nutritional standards including whole grain and sodium limits, delivery capability across multiple school sites, and responsiveness to federal Buy American provisions requiring 51 percent domestic agricultural content. Evaluation also credits insurance, food safety certifications (HACCP, third-party audit scores of 90 percent or higher), and vendor experience in K-12 and institutional settings.

Recent opportunities cluster heavily in Texas (Garland ISD, Klein ISD, multiple Region 10 and Region 7 cooperative procurements), California (Stockton Unified, Granite School District, CAL FIRE), Connecticut (Meriden Public Schools, City of New London, Bridgeport Board of Education), Utah (Granite School District), and Massachusetts (collaborative regional procurements and buying groups). Stockton Unified School District issued ITB 26-17 on June 26, 2026, for USDA-compliant dairy products and juices including milk, cheese, and yogurt with estimated annual volumes to 887,075 cases across 43 school sites, with awards made by line item to lowest responsive and responsible bidders and pricing adjustable post-award only by Consumer Price Index formula. Meriden Public Schools posted RFP 026-41 (response due February 25, 2026) for commercial and USDA frozen and refrigerated foods serving 8,200 students at $3,100,000 anticipated contract value, with Wednesday and Thursday deliveries to 14 locations. Granite School District issued multiple IFBs in April 2026 for bread products (ITB 26-16), cupped fruit (ITB 26-21), and legume-based snacks (ITB 26-22), all due April 24–May 4, 2026, with federal funding and Buy American compliance required. Beaufort County issued RFP #062226 (June 22, 2026) for comprehensive detention center food services including meal preparation and thermal delivery across a five-year term. Region 10 Education Service Center and Region 7 Purchasing Cooperative issued statewide food service awards spanning $14.8 million to $296.2 million in total estimated value, accepting multiple vendors across product categories.