NIGP 38548: Fruits, Frozen

NIGP 38548 Fruits, Frozen, an Item code, represents a narrow commodity line within state and local procurement where governments purchase frozen fruit products—sliced or diced apples, mixed berries, and other processed frozen fruit—for institutional feeding at state hospitals, correctional facilities, school districts, and community colleges. Recent solicitations show state agencies and school boards buying frozen fruit as part of broader food-service procurement, with the Oregon Department of Corrections seeking approximately 40,000 pounds of frozen sliced or diced apples and school districts bundling frozen fruit into larger grocery or produce bids. The work is straightforward commodity supply with firm fixed pricing, multi-week delivery windows, and strict compliance with USDA grading and food-safety standards including FDA Current Good Manufacturing Practice requirements, minimum shelf-life guarantees (typically one year or 90 days from delivery), and temperature-controlled logistics.

Issuing bodies span state institutional agencies—corrections, health and human services, and state hospitals—and school districts. State health and human services commissions in Texas dominate recent activity, with multiple institutional-feeding solicitations that bundle frozen fruit alongside other protein, dairy, and vegetable items. The geographic concentration is heaviest in Texas, Georgia, Oregon, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Florida, with Texas state agencies issuing the largest and most frequent institutional-food contracts. The Oregon Department of Corrections posted a frozen-apple solicitation (IFB S2910000017684, bids due August 19, 2026) for delivery to Salem, offering a combined 10 percent preference for Oregon-fabricated goods and Oregon-headquartered bidders, with pricing at $0.797 per pound historically. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission issued multiple statewide frozen-food contracts covering state hospitals and supported living centers (IFB HHS0017338 posted July 17, 2026, due August 18; estimated annual volume $9 million with maximum contract value $19 million over the full period), where frozen fruit appears as one line item among 106 SKUs. Head Start of Greater Dallas and several school districts including Hancock County, Georgia; Early County, Georgia; and Bridgeport, Connecticut solicited fresh and frozen produce as part of National School Lunch Program compliance, with contract values ranging from approximately $160,000 to $969,000 annually and emphasis on Buy American provisions and nutrition standards under the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.