UNSPSC 50121538: Shelf stable fish

UNSPSC 50121538 Shelf stable fish is a Commodity code capturing frozen and canned fish products that state and local governments procure primarily for school nutrition programs and institutional food service. Recent solicitations show school districts across the South (Georgia, Missouri, Texas, Connecticut) bidding competitively for shelf-stable fish items as line-item components within broader grocery and food-service contracts; fish portions appear alongside proteins like chicken and beef in IFBs and RFPs that name specific quantities (e.g., pollock fish portions for TDCJ, frozen fish in New Haven's 200-line-item commodity RFP, and fish as one category among dozens in multi-state school district procurements). The issuing-body mix is dominated by independent school districts (Tattnall County, Effingham County, Lamar County, Richmond County, Houston County, Rockwood R-VI, Douglas County, New Haven Public Schools) bidding annually for school year supply; state procurement offices (Georgia Department of Education, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts on behalf of TDCJ) post consolidated IFBs serving multiple institutional locations; and municipal agencies (Invest Atlanta's food-distribution RFP) occasionally include fish as a supply-chain component. School districts dominate the volume, with each typically posting one to two food-supply IFBs or RFPs per fiscal year.

Geographic concentration is heaviest in Georgia, which shows the most recent activity—Tattnall, Effingham, Lamar, Richmond, Houston, and Douglas County school systems all posted food solicitations between February and July 2026. Texas (Houston County School District and TDCJ warehouse procurement) and Missouri (Rockwood R-VI) also show active procurement. Connecticut (New Haven Public Schools) and Atlanta (Invest Atlanta) appear once each. Representative recent opportunities include the Tattnall County Board of Education's sealed-bid food-supply IFB due July 22, 2026, covering produce, proteins, and dairy across unspecified quantities; the New Haven Public Schools' RFP due June 16, 2026, explicitly citing frozen fish among 200+ line items with an estimated 17,500 to 19,000 meals per day served; Houston County School District's ITB 27-001 for direct-delivery food (approximately $14 million annually, 350,000 cases, due April 17, 2026); and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice cafeteria food procurement (IFB 304T26300CF, due May 4, 2026, extended via addendum) specifying pollock fish portions and other proteins with USDA grade requirements and fixed delivery locations across five geographic areas in Texas. Buy American and USDA Child Nutrition compliance requirements appear consistently; most contracts run July 1 through June 30 annually with optional one- to four-year renewal terms at the district's discretion.