UNSPSC 50312518: Organic ruby bing cherries

The variety of organic cherries known as organic ruby bing cherries

UNSPSC 50312518 Organic ruby bing cherries (Commodity) addresses fresh fruit procurement for state and local school nutrition programs, though recent opportunities under this code show little activity directly aligned with the stated cherry commodity. The code nominally covers a single, specific produce item—organic ruby bing cherries—yet the most recent state and local solicitations tagged to it span a far broader range of fresh produce sourcing, including bananas, mixed fruits and vegetables, eggs, and comprehensive farm-to-school initiatives. This mismatch suggests either a cataloging inconsistency in the tagging system or that the commodity code is being applied more broadly to general produce procurement than its name indicates. School districts dominate the issuing bodies, including Madison Metropolitan School District (Wisconsin), Hancock County Board of Education (Georgia), Bartow County School System (Georgia), Early County Board of Education (Georgia), Bulloch County School District (Georgia), Liberty County Board of Education (Georgia), Muscogee County School District (Georgia), Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (Georgia), Glynn County Board of Education (Georgia), and others. A state procurement (State of Georgia) also appears. The geographic footprint is heavily concentrated in Georgia and Wisconsin, with emerging activity in Texas and Florida.

Recent opportunities show school nutrition programs procuring produce through multiple notice types—IFBs dominate (Liberty County, Hancock County, Glynn County), with RFPs common (Douglas County through GEC Buying Cooperative at $4.4 million for Area One and $1.1 million for Area Two; Hillsborough County Public Schools at $600,000 for USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program; Austin Independent School District; Bulloch County; Bartow County). Madison Metropolitan School District issued RFBs for petite bananas (RFB 4162, due July 29, 2026) and fresh fruit and vegetable snacks (RFB 4163, due July 29, 2026). Most contracts run July 1 through June 30 with renewal options. Delivery requirements are uniformly stringent—early-morning windows (5:00–7:00 a.m. typical), HACCP plans, traceability, food safety certifications, and Buy American compliance. Set-asides for disadvantaged enterprises appear inconsistently, though some districts (Madison, Austin) note diverse-owned business preferences or scoring weighted toward HUB status. This is an active, fragmented market driven by school food-service budgets and federal nutrition-program funding, with no single dominant vendor base evident and frequent use of cooperative purchasing vehicles.