UNSPSC 50300000: Fresh fruits

UNSPSC 50300000 Fresh fruits, a Family code, encompasses the procurement of fresh fruit for school meal programs, child nutrition initiatives, senior services, and correctional facilities. State and local governments buy fresh produce—apples, bananas, berries, citrus, melons, and specialty items—typically in bulk case quantities, delivered on fixed weekly or bi-weekly schedules to central warehouses or individual school and facility sites. Sourcing requirements often emphasize domestic agricultural products under Buy American provisions (7 CFR 210.21(d)), with many jurisdictions adding local-sourcing preferences (produce grown within 50–400 miles) and requirements for HACCP certification, traceability documentation, and food safety compliance. School districts, county boards of education, and special-purpose food-service authorities dominate the recent activity, with issuing bodies including Hillsborough County Public Schools (Tampa, Florida), Madison Metropolitan School District (Wisconsin), Meriden Public Schools (Connecticut), Austin Independent School District (Texas), multiple Georgia school districts, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (Massachusetts), Orange County Sheriff-Coroner (California), and Head Start organizations. Cooperative purchasing vehicles—such as the GEC Buying Cooperative in Georgia and MAPC in Massachusetts—aggregate demand across 12 to 40 school districts to increase bidding leverage.

Geographic activity concentrates heavily in Georgia (Bulloch County, Bryan County, Dougherty County, Glynn County, Liberty County, Hancock County, Muscogee County, Savannah-Chatham County, Henry County, and Bartow County school systems), followed by Texas (Austin ISD, McAllen ISD, City of Edinburg), Florida (Hillsborough County), Connecticut (Meriden, Middletown, Bridgeport), Massachusetts (MAPC), Wisconsin (Madison Metropolitan), and California (Orange County Sheriff, Santa Clara County). Representative recent opportunities include Madison Metropolitan School District's RFB 4162 for petite bananas (70–90 cases weekly, $78,000 estimated annual value, bids due July 29, 2026), Madison Metropolitan's RFB 4163 for fresh fruit and vegetable snacks (5,900 weekly servings, local-sourcing requirement within 400 miles and Wisconsin preference, bids due July 29, 2026), the GEC Buying Cooperative's RFP SN 26-004 for fresh produce and eggs across 30 Georgia school districts (two geographic areas, estimated $5.5 million annual spending, proposals due March 4, 2026), Hillsborough County Public Schools' RFP 26RFP034 for specialty fruits and vegetables to support the USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program at 18 elementary schools ($600,000 estimated annual budget, proposals due March 11, 2026), and the City of Edinburg's RFP 2026-017 for CACFP meal-program supplies including fresh fruits and vegetables for 400 children daily (proposals due August 4, 2026). Most school-district procurements use IFB or RFP structures with 60–90-day award timelines, weekly or bi-weekly delivery schedules, cost-plus or firm-fixed pricing models, and evaluation criteria weighting cost at 30–50 percent with quality, food safety compliance, and vendor experience filling the remainder. Set-asides and preferences vary by jurisdiction; Georgia emphasizes E-Verify compliance and debarment certification, while Texas incorporates HUB (Historically Underutilized Business) status and local-principal-place-of-business preferences. Activity is steady through the 2026–27 school year, with contract terms typically running July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, and options for renewal.