UNSPSC 50402205: Red beard bunching onions

The variety of bunching onions known as red beard bunching onions

UNSPSC 50402205 Red beard bunching onions, a Commodity code, describes fresh onions in bulk form that state and local governments procure for school nutrition programs, institutional food service, and emergency food assistance. The recent activity under this code reflects a broader procurement pattern in which school districts, county education boards, and state criminal justice agencies buy fresh produce—including onions among dozens of produce line items—for meal programs serving students, incarcerated individuals, and seniors. These solicitations emphasize USDA compliance, local or domestic sourcing preferences, traceability by farm of origin, temperature-controlled delivery, and competitive pricing pegged to USDA market indices or terminal market reports.

School districts dominate the issuing-body mix, with recent opportunities from Northside Independent School District (San Antonio, Texas), Hillsborough County Public Schools (Tampa, Florida), Meriden Public Schools (Connecticut), McAllen Independent School District (Texas), Austin Independent School District (Texas), and multiple Georgia county school systems including Bulloch County, Bryan County, Dougherty County, Glynn County, Liberty County, and others. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice and Head Start of Greater Dallas also procure produce under this code. Geographically, Georgia school districts account for the densest cluster of recent activity, followed by Texas jurisdictions and scattered opportunities in Florida, Connecticut, and Missouri. Representative recent opportunities include Madison Metropolitan School District (Wisconsin) seeking fresh fruit and vegetable snacks under RFB 4163 (due July 29, 2026) with preference for local sourcing within 400 miles and organic product pricing discounts; Northside Independent School District (Texas) issuing RFP 2026-048 for fresh produce delivery to 117 campuses five days per week with evaluation weighting cost at 35 percent and a July 1, 2026 contract start; and the Douglas County School System (Georgia) posting RFP SN 26-004 through the GEC Buying Cooperative for fresh produce and eggs serving 30 school districts across two geographic areas with approximately $5.5 million in estimated annual spending split between zones (due March 4, 2026). The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has also posted multiple IFBs for carrots, sweet potatoes, and white potatoes for canning and bulk supply to correctional facilities (IW253079, IW253121, IW253099, IW241979-A), all with June or March 2026 response dates.