UNSPSC 50301615: Early bright apricots

The variety of apricots known as early bright apricots

UNSPSC 50301615 Early bright apricots is a Commodity code that captures state and local procurement of fresh and specialty produce items for child nutrition programs, school meal services, and institutional food operations. Recent opportunities show school districts, county education boards, municipalities, and child care consortia purchasing fresh produce—including apricots, apples, bananas, berries, and seasonal vegetables—as line items within broader food service contracts. The solicitations emphasize USDA compliance, domestic sourcing preferences, quality standards, and cold-chain delivery to multiple school and facility sites. Issuing bodies span independent school districts (Madison Metropolitan, Austin ISD, Hillsborough County), county school boards (Glynn County, Dougherty County, Bryan County, Bulloch County), city departments serving nutrition programs (Bridgeport Board of Education, City of Edinburg), Head Start and child care consortia (Head Start of Greater Dallas, GEC Buying Cooperative), and county correctional facilities (Santa Clara Sheriff's Department). A handful of larger multi-district or regional purchasing vehicles—the GEC Buying Cooperative covering 30 Georgia districts and cooperative purchasing arrangements in Texas—indicate growing consolidation of produce procurement into bulk awards spanning multiple vendors and geographic areas.

Activity concentrates in Georgia, Texas, Florida, and Connecticut, with school nutrition programs as the primary buyer across jurisdictions. Representative recent opportunities include Madison Metropolitan School District's ITB for petite bananas (70–90 cases weekly, contract value estimated at $78,000 through June 2027, due July 29, 2026); the City of Bridgeport's RFB for grocery items including fresh produce for the Board of Education (1,100+ line items, National School Lunch Program compliance, due June 30, 2026); Hillsborough County Public Schools' RFP for fresh fruit and vegetable program specialty produce to 18 elementary schools ($600,000 estimated annual budget, federally funded, due March 11, 2026); the GEC Buying Cooperative's RFP for fresh produce and eggs across 30 Georgia school districts ($5.5 million estimated spending across two geographic areas, due March 4, 2026); and Austin ISD's RFP for fresh produce and beverages emphasizing the Good Food Purchasing Program and domestic sourcing (due March 11, 2026). Contracts typically run one school year (July–June) with optional renewals; pricing structures vary between firm fixed, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and escalator/de-escalator models tied to USDA market pricing; and delivery requirements demand weekly or twice-weekly service to multiple sites with early-morning (5:00–7:00 a.m.) and daytime (through 2:30 p.m.) windows. Buy American provisions, HACCP certification, food safety traceability, and insurance minimums of $500,000 to $2 million are standard. The code shows sustained institutional demand but highly fragmented purchasing across hundreds of independent school districts and county systems, limiting concentration among repeat buyers.