UNSPSC 50401602: Franklin asparagus

The variety of asparagus known as franklin asparagus

UNSPSC 50401602 Franklin asparagus, a Commodity code, represents a narrow product line within fresh produce procurement. State and local governments purchase Franklin asparagus primarily as part of broader food service supply contracts for institutional dining, correctional facilities, schools, senior centers, and healthcare settings. Recent solicitations show asparagus appears infrequently as a standalone item; instead, state and local agencies buy it within aggregated fresh produce categories that bundle multiple vegetable varieties into single contracts. The issuing bodies span state departments (Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Illinois Department of Corrections, Illinois Department of Mental Health), school districts (Madison Metropolitan, Bartow County, Dougherty County, Bryan County, Early County), counties (Collier County), and special-purpose authorities (Head Start of Greater Dallas). State food service operations—institutional cafeterias, prison food warehouses, and treatment centers—dominate the buyer base. Delivery is typically bi-weekly or weekly with F.O.B. Destination pricing and product-freshness guarantees; vendors assume transportation, handling, and replacement costs for damaged or spoiled items. Texas procurement activity is heaviest, with multiple TDCJ food-warehouse solicitations (Snyder, Wynne, Palestine) and HHS institutional dining contracts, supplemented by Illinois state mental health and corrections facilities and Georgia school districts. Collier County (Florida) and Head Start (Dallas) round out the geographic footprint. Representative recent opportunities include the Texas HHS Commission's IFB HHS0018082 for consumables at Lufkin State Supported Living Center (bids due October 23, 2026), which bundled prepared foods and food service supplies across 22 line items; the Illinois Department of Corrections' IFB 27426DOCJOLIEB53849 for fresh produce delivery to Joliet Treatment Center (bids due September 3, 2026, small-business set-aside); and the Bartow County School System RFP 10-2026-019 for local fresh fruits and vegetables sourced within 400 miles (proposals due June 22, 2026). Response timelines cluster in the 5 to 14 day range from posting to due date.

Asparagus procurement does not stand out as a high-volume category in these solicitations. The code sees minimal standalone activity; asparagus appears embedded within aggregated fresh-vegetable RFPs and IFBs that mix dozens of produce types. Schools, correctional facilities, and state-supported living centers emphasize seasonal availability and cost per pound, with preference scoring often weighted toward local sourcing (within 400 miles in Georgia and Wisconsin precedents), organic or specialty production, and delivery reliability. Prevailing-wage compliance applies in Illinois state contracts, and USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program grants drive school-district procurement with matching-fund requirements. Commodity-code specificity at the Franklin asparagus level does not align with the actual procurement behavior—state and local buyers issue RFPs and IFBs for broad produce families and award multiple vendors or single prime suppliers who manage assortment mix rather than procure Franklin asparagus as a standalone line item. Pursuing this code requires understanding the parent produce-family contracts (typically filed under broader fresh-vegetable or grocery codes) and positioning as part of a full-line produce distributor capable of weekly or bi-weekly delivery to multiple institutional sites with USDA compliance, temperature-controlled transport, and traceability documentation by farm of origin.