NIGP 38567: Seafood, Frozen (Not Entrees)

NIGP 38567 Seafood, Frozen (Not Entrees), Item, appears in state and local school nutrition and institutional food service procurement primarily through direct-delivery contracts to school districts and state health and human services agencies across the Southeast. Recent solicitations show frozen seafood—particularly frozen fish and pollock—comprising a line-item subset within broader grocery, commodity, and warehouse-delivery food bids serving child nutrition programs and residential care facilities, where vendors source frozen fish alongside frozen poultry, beef, and prepared entrees under consolidated food service agreements.

School districts and state agencies dominate the issuing-body mix, with standout repeat buyers including the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) for state supported living centers and hospitals statewide; Georgia school districts (Houston County, Lamar County, Early County, Dougherty County, Treutlen County, Douglas County, Decatur City Schools, and Effingham County); New Haven Public Schools and the City of New Haven Board of Education in Connecticut; and Rockwood R-VI School District in Missouri. A secondary segment includes county and municipal governments purchasing for community programs: Invest Atlanta is soliciting food distributors (Category B) to serve municipal markets in designated Priority Communities, and Gwinnett County Commissioners procurement includes supplemental groceries. Geographic activity concentrates in Georgia (twelve recent solicitations), Texas (two HHSC/DSHS procurements), Connecticut (two City of New Haven bids), and Missouri (Rockwood district), with isolated activity in other states. Representative recent opportunities include the Texas HHSC statewide supplemental food procurement (IFB HHS0016792, extended deadline February 23, 2026) covering 210 line items including frozen specialty foods across 23 facilities; Houston County School District's direct-delivery food bid (ITB 27-001, due April 17, 2026, valued at approximately $14 million annually) requiring weekly delivery to 39 schools; and New Haven Board of Education's commodity food RFP (due June 16, 2026) covering over 200 line items across 14 product categories including frozen fish, serving 17,500 to 19,000 meals daily across 224 service days. Contract terms typically run one fiscal year (July through June) with two to four renewal or extension options, firm pricing throughout the initial term subject to market-based adjustment clauses, and mandatory compliance with USDA Buy American provisions (minimum 51 percent domestic content), HACCP food safety certification, liability insurance minima ($1 million general liability), and temperature-control specifications for frozen products (0 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit upon delivery with minimum three-month shelf life).