UNSPSC 50305021: Late navel oranges

The variety of oranges known as late navel oranges

UNSPSC 50305021 Late navel oranges is a Commodity code that covers fresh citrus fruit supply to institutional food-service operations—primarily correctional facilities, mental health centers, school districts, and senior services. State and local governments procure late navel oranges and other fresh produce as components of broader food-service contracts for prisoner meals, patient nutrition, school lunch programs, and community senior centers. The work is straightforward supply and delivery: vendors source fresh fruit, deliver to designated warehouse or site locations on schedules ranging from bi-weekly to daily, comply with USDA quality standards and food-safety regulations, and maintain temperature and freshness guarantees. Issuing bodies span state correctional and mental-health agencies (Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Illinois Department of Corrections, Illinois Department of Mental Health), school districts (Madison Metropolitan, Hancock County, Bryan County, Dougherty County, Bartow County, Early County, DeSoto County), counties (Collier County, Marion Health Care Coalition), cities (San Antonio, Edinburg, Bridgeport), and nonprofit Head Start providers. School districts represent the largest segment, conducting procurement under National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) mandates with Buy American provisions requiring domestic sourcing and compliance with USDA nutrition standards.

Activity clusters heavily in Texas, Georgia, Illinois, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Mississippi, and Florida, with school nutrition programs generating the most frequent solicitations. Representative recent opportunities include the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's produce solicitations for prison food warehouses in Snyder and Huntsville (due October 14, 2026, via RFx portal), Madison Metropolitan School District's petite banana bid (RFB 4162, due July 29, 2026, 70–90 cases weekly at $78,000 annual value), and Hancock County Board of Education's fresh-produce bid covering 200+ line items for three school sites (due June 26, 2026). School districts typically weight cost at 30–40% in evaluation, with meaningful points awarded for local or regional sourcing (5–15%), quality compliance (15–20%), and diverse-business certification (5%). Contracts run one school year (July–June) with renewal options. Institutional buyers impose strict delivery windows (often pre-dawn 5:00–7:00 a.m. for schools, 6:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. for district warehouses), temperature controls, 97–98% fill-rate minimums, insurance of $500,000–$1,000,000 general liability, and replacement-at-no-cost guarantees for damaged stock. Late-stage pricing is frequently firm for contract duration, though escalation clauses tied to USDA or Bureau of Labor Statistics indices are common. Set-asides for small business, minority-owned, or woman-owned enterprises appear in roughly half of recent bids; local-vendor preferences worth 5–15 points are standard in Texas and Georgia districts.