UNSPSC 50306300: Rhubarb

The type of fruit known as rhubarb

UNSPSC 50306300 Rhubarb, a Class code, covers fresh produce procurement for institutional food service operations, though recent state and local opportunities under this code span a much broader range of fresh fruits and vegetables than the narrow code name suggests. State and local governments are actively buying fresh produce — apples, bananas, berries, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, onions, oranges, potatoes, strawberries, tomatoes, and dozens of other varieties — for school nutrition programs, correctional facilities, mental health centers, senior services, child care programs, and parks recreation. The issuing bodies include state departments (Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Illinois Department of Corrections, Illinois Department of Mental Health), county boards of education and school districts (Madison Metropolitan, Dougherty County, Hancock County, Bryan County, Bartow County, DeSoto County, Early County in Georgia; Collier County in Florida), city governments (San Antonio, Bridgeport, Edinburg), and nonprofit Head Start agencies. School nutrition programs account for the bulk of recent solicitation activity, reflecting the scale and regularity of institutional food service demand.

The geographic center of recent activity spans Texas, Georgia, Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida, Mississippi, and Connecticut, with school districts in Georgia and Texas particularly active. Representative opportunities include the Texas Department of Criminal Justice seeking fresh fruit and vegetables for food warehouses in Palestine, Snyder, and Huntsville with proposals due October 2026; Madison Metropolitan School District bidding separately on petite bananas (RFB 4162, July 2026, estimated annual value $78,000) and fresh fruit and vegetable snacks (RFB 4163, July 2026, Wisconsin-sourced and requiring organic-preference documentation); DeSoto County Schools requesting fresh produce distribution across 41 sites under a cost-plus-fee model with bi-annual pricing and 97 percent service-level requirements (bids due June 2026); Hancock County Board of Education issuing an IFB for fresh produce spanning over 200 line items across three delivery locations (bids due June 2026); and Bartow County Schools in Georgia requesting local fresh fruits and vegetables sourced within 400 miles with weighted evaluation on cost, seasonal variety, and product quality (bids due June 2026). Collier County issued an Invitation to Negotiate for food services at North Collier Regional Park with a local-vendor 10-point preference and three-year contract term (proposals due March 2025, likely a posting-date error). Illinois Department of Mental Health and Illinois Department of Corrections conducted small-purchase procurements for fresh produce with prevailing-wage compliance and minority contractor initiative fees. Buy American provisions, HACCP plans, delivery-temperature requirements, and weekly or bi-weekly delivery schedules are standard across most solicitations; school district bids frequently include set-asides for small business, minority-owned, or woman-owned vendors and local-supplier preferences worth 5 to 10 evaluation points.