NIGP 96137: Fruit and Vegetable Processing Services

NIGP 96137 Fruit and Vegetable Processing Services, an Item code, covers the procurement of fresh produce and processed fruits and vegetables for school nutrition programs, with state and local education agencies sourcing everything from raw specialty produce for federal nutrition initiatives to pre-cut, pre-packaged items meeting USDA Child Nutrition Reimbursable standards and Buy American requirements. Recent solicitations show school districts procuring fresh produce for regular child nutrition service, specialty fruits and vegetables for the federally funded Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), and general grocery items spanning produce, frozen goods, dairy, and meat for breakfast and lunch service — all subject to stringent USDA compliance, food-safety certification (HACCP and GAP), temperature-controlled delivery logistics, nutritional labeling, and allergen restrictions. The issuing bodies are exclusively school districts and school boards at the city and county level; Hillsborough County Public Schools in Tampa, Northside Independent School District in San Antonio, and the Bridgeport Board of Education have all posted solicitations under this code in the past three months.

Opportunities cluster in Texas and Florida, with secondary activity in Connecticut. Hillsborough County Public Schools sought fresh fruit and vegetable vendors for its FFVP program (RFP 26039RFQDST, due March 11, 2026, with an estimated annual budget of $600,000 funded entirely by USDA grant awards and a cost-plus fixed-fee-per-case structure); Northside Independent School District posted RFP 2026-048 for fresh produce delivery across all elementary, middle, and high schools in the San Antonio area (due May 7, 2026), with evaluation weighted toward price (35%), extent of goods meeting district needs (25%), and quality of goods and services (15%); and the Bridgeport Board of Education issued IFB BNB052266 for over 1,100 line items of grocery items including fresh produce, frozen goods, and dairy for the National School Lunch Program (due June 30, 2026), with firm fixed pricing on a Net 45 basis and mandatory blind testing at vendor expense. All three require vendor certification of compliance with federal regulations, commercial general liability and products liability insurance naming the district as additional insured, and adherence to Buy American provisions with domestic agricultural sourcing requirements.