UNSPSC 50401500: Artichokes

The type of vegetable known as artichokes

UNSPSC 50401500 Artichokes is a Class code that encompasses fresh produce items for institutional food service, school nutrition programs, and senior services. State and local governments buy articulated produce alongside broader fresh fruit and vegetable procurement — the recent activity does not isolate artichokes as a standalone category but instead groups them within comprehensive fresh produce solicitations for school districts, criminal justice agencies, and human services departments. The issuing bodies include independent school districts (Madison Metropolitan, Northside, Austin, Hillsborough County, Meriden, McAllen, Salt Lake City, and Savannah-Chatham), county school systems (Bartow, Dougherty, Bryan, Early, Glynn, Liberty, Muscogee, Henry, Bulloch, Douglas), state agencies (Texas Department of Criminal Justice, State of Georgia), and city and county human services divisions (San Antonio Parks & Recreation and Senior Services, Head Start of Greater Dallas). School nutrition programs account for the largest share of recent activity, with secondary procurement from corrections facilities, senior centers, and child care programs. Geographic spread concentrates in Texas, Georgia, and Florida, with additional activity in Missouri, Connecticut, and Utah.

Representative recent opportunities include the Bartow County School System RFP 10-2026-019 posted May 21, 2026, seeking local fresh fruits and vegetables for the 2026-2027 school year with proposals due June 22, 2026, requiring produce sourced within 400 miles with delivery to a central warehouse in Cartersville, Georgia; the Texas Department of Criminal Justice IFB IW241979-A posted April 7, 2026, soliciting 1,200 tons of carrots (with bids due March 17, 2026 — a closed deadline) for institutional food service; and the Dougherty County Board of Education IFB posted May 19, 2026, requesting sealed bids for fresh produce including 40 line items across multiple vegetable and fruit categories for 24 school nutrition sites with bids due June 16, 2026. Hillsborough County Public Schools' RFP 26039RFPDST posted April 13, 2026, seeks specialty fruits and vegetables for the USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program at approximately 18 elementary schools with proposals due March 11, 2026 and an estimated annual budget of $600,000 funded entirely by USDA grants. Evaluation criteria across active solicitations weight cost and pricing competitiveness at 30–50 percent, product quality and freshness at 15–25 percent, delivery reliability and logistics at 10–25 percent, vendor experience at 10–20 percent, and compliance (Buy American, HACCP, food safety) as mandatory thresholds. Most school district contracts require firm pricing for 12 months or longer, weekly or twice-weekly delivery to multiple sites, USDA compliance and food safety certifications, and general liability insurance of $500,000 to $2,000,000. No federal set-asides apply to this code, though several states (Texas, Georgia) offer vendor preferences for in-state or locally sourced goods, and some districts encourage but do not require small business or minority-owned vendor participation.