UNSPSC 50402600: Cauliflowers

The type of vegetable known as cauliflowers

UNSPSC 50402600 Cauliflowers, a Class code, represents fresh produce procurement driven by school nutrition programs, child care agencies, and correctional facilities seeking weekly or seasonal supplies of fresh fruits and vegetables for institutional meal service. State and local governments buy fresh cauliflower and related produce items as line items within broader school nutrition bids, USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) contracts, and food service supply agreements that bundle produce with proteins, dairy, and prepared foods. The recent solicitation activity shows issuing bodies spanning large independent school districts (Northside ISD in Texas, Austin ISD, AISD with 83 elementary schools), regional school cooperative purchasing vehicles (GEC Buying Cooperative serving 30 districts across Georgia), county and city school systems (Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools, Dougherty County Board of Education, Bartow County Schools), specialized nutrition programs (Head Start centers, senior services divisions), and state correctional facilities (Texas Department of Criminal Justice purchasing bulk quantities of white potatoes, carrots, and sweet potatoes for institutional canning and food service). School districts dominate the volume; the code sees repeat activity from Georgia jurisdictions particularly, reflecting state procurement infrastructure and cooperative buying patterns.

Fresh produce procurement under this code spans five primary contexts: commodity-focused FFVP contracts for elementary schools (Madison Metropolitan School District bidding weekly fresh fruit and vegetable snacks under a 400-mile local-sourcing requirement with 5% diverse-owned business preference; Hillsborough County Public Schools seeking specialty fruits and vegetables for 18 schools with a fixed cost-plus model); bulk institutional food service for criminal justice (TDCJ seeking 1,200 tons of carrots, white potatoes, and sweet potatoes for canning across multiple facilities); line-item fresh produce within comprehensive school nutrition bids covering 40–72 produce SKUs (Dougherty County, Glynn County, Liberty County, Muscogee County, Savannah-Chatham County boards of education all seeking apples, bananas, carrots, lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, and specialty items via sealed IFB with weekly delivery to 13–60 school sites); local farm-sourced produce requiring 200–400 mile geographic caps (Bulloch County RFP for 24 items from farms within 200 miles; Bartow County Schools requiring 400-mile sourcing with seasonal availability documentation); and cooperative purchasing vehicles bundling 30+ districts (Douglas County GEC Buying Cooperative RFP spanning two Georgia areas, roughly $4.4 million estimated annual spend for Area One alone). Contract terms typically run July 1 through June 30 with one to four optional one-year renewals. Pricing structures vary: unit price bids with USDA terminal market price benchmarks and fixed markups (Muscogee County evaluates bids as a dollar markup above USDA Fruit and Vegetable Market News Index); cost-plus-fixed-fee models (Hillsborough FFVP); and net-30 or net-40 payment terms are standard. Evaluation emphasizes cost (30–50 points in most school district RFPs), quality and freshness compliance, delivery reliability and scheduling fit, local or domestic sourcing preference, and small/minority/women-owned business status where Buy American and USDA civil rights provisions apply. Compliance requirements include HACCP plans, traceability documentation, insurance (typically $500,000–$2 million general liability), E-Verify authorization, debarment certification, and food safety documentation (GAP or FDA inspection reports). Recent activity spans Texas (TDCJ bulk procurement, McAllen ISD, Northside ISD, Austin ISD), Georgia (eight school districts and the state procurement office posting fresh produce bids from February through July 2026), Florida (Hillsborough County), Connecticut (Meriden Public Schools), and Utah (Salt Lake City School District). Georgia shows the highest concentration, with Bartow County Schools (due May 22 for July 1 start), Bryan County Schools (May 27), Bulloch County (May 4), Dougherty County (June 16), Glynn County (April 14), Muscogee County (April 27), Savannah-Chatham County (April 23), Liberty County (April 29), and Douglas County GEC vehicle (March 4) all soliciting fresh produce between February and July 2026. Most school district bids close in April through June for July 1 contract start, creating a concentrated April–May solicitation window. TDCJ bids for bulk potatoes and carrots clustered in March 2026 (March 3, March 17, March 23 due dates). This code sees steady, recurring activity—school nutrition procurement is annual and predictable, with large districts and multi-district cooperatives representing the largest volume buyers and highest contract values ($600,000–$4.4 million estimated ranges where disclosed).