UNSPSC 50305412: Conference pears

The variety of pears known as conference pears

UNSPSC 50305412 Conference pears, a Commodity code, names a single fresh-produce item that state and local governments procure primarily for institutional food service — correctional facilities, mental-health centers, school nutrition programs, senior services, and child-care operations. Recent solicitations under this code show state and local agencies buying fresh fruits and vegetables as part of broader meal-service contracts rather than conference pears in isolation; the code appears to serve as a component line item within multi-product food procurement, where fresh produce categories (apples, bananas, citrus, leafy greens, root vegetables, berries) dominate actual buying activity. Issuing bodies span state departments of corrections and mental health, county and municipal school districts, county social services, city senior programs, and special-purpose entities such as Head Start organizations and regional health-care coalitions. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice appears frequently as a repeat buyer, issuing multiple fresh-fruit-and-vegetable solicitations across its food warehouse network at Palestine, Snyder, and Wynne locations.

Recent procurement activity concentrates in Texas, Illinois, Georgia, Wisconsin, Florida, Mississippi, Connecticut, and Ohio. Representative solicitations include the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's fresh-fruit-and-vegetables bid for the Palestine facility (IFB, response due October 19, 2026), the Illinois Department of Corrections' fresh-produce RFQ for Joliet Treatment Center (RFQ, response due September 3, 2026, with small-business set-aside), the Collier County Board of County Commissioners' food-services ITN for North Collier Regional Park (ITN, response due March 6, 2025, with 10-point local-vendor preference), and Madison Metropolitan School District's fresh-fruit-and-vegetable-snacks RFB (RFB 4163, response due July 29, 2026, requiring Wisconsin sourcing within 400 miles and offering 5% diverse-owned-business preference). School districts and state correctional and mental-health agencies are the most active issuers; contract terms typically run one fiscal or school year with optional renewals, delivery occurs multiple times weekly to multiple sites, Buy American provisions apply where federal meal-program funding is involved, and pricing is commonly firm for the contract period with escalation clauses indexed to USDA or labor-statistics data.