NIGP 96138: Food Preparation Services (Including Food Canning Services)

NIGP 96138 Food Preparation Services (Including Food Canning Services), an Item code, encompasses the contracting activity state and local governments pursue for meal preparation, assembly, delivery, and related operational support across institutional and commercial food service settings. Recent opportunities show jurisdictions buying food service management at detention facilities and jails, school nutrition programs under USDA meal standards, university and college dining operations, public facility concessions, emergency catering, and specialized nutrition delivery including home-delivered and congregate meals for seniors. The mix of issuing bodies reflects broad institutional demand: county sheriffs' offices and detention authorities, independent school districts and charter schools, state universities and community colleges, county parks and recreation departments, municipal governments, transit authorities, and specialized agencies. Repeat buyers include Georgia charter schools and school districts procuring food service management under National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program structures; Florida counties and municipalities issuing concession and emergency food service contracts; and Texas counties and school districts managing institutional food operations across jails, detention centers, and K–12 nutrition programs.

Geographic spread covers activity in California (San Clemente State Beach restaurant concession), Texas (Harris County Juvenile Probation, Williamson County Jail, multiple independent school districts in San Antonio and Houston areas), Florida (Tampa Convention Center, Collier County parks, Broward County emergency services, Marion County school district vending), Georgia (Atlanta food distribution and retail, Dalton State College dining, Whitfield County Jail), Colorado (Boulder County Head Start), Connecticut (New London boardwalk and event catering), Arizona (charter schools in Maricopa County), Oregon (Washington County senior nutrition), Wisconsin (Kenosha County skilled nursing facility, Milwaukee County parks), and others. Representative recent opportunities include the County of Orange, California IFB for vending machine and snack service across 40 locations with a five-year revenue-sharing term (bid due July 8, 2026); Invest Atlanta's RFP for grocery retail market operator and food distributor services in Priority Communities (proposals due August 6, 2026); the Tampa Convention Center's re-bid for food and beverage services (due July 27, 2026); Beaufort County, South Carolina RFP for detention center food services under a one-year term with four renewal options (due June 22, 2026); and Harris County Juvenile Probation's RFP for institutional meals across four facilities (due April 27, 2026). Contract structures vary between per-meal pricing, revenue-sharing commissions, cost-plus-management-fee models, and fixed-price arrangements, with many incorporating annual CPI adjustments and performance-based compliance scoring tied to health and safety standards.