UNSPSC 50402801: Bright lights chard

The variety of chard known as bright lights chard

UNSPSC 50402801 Bright lights chard is a Commodity code with minimal recent procurement activity directly matching its name. State and local governments soliciting under this code are predominantly school districts, purchasing fresh produce for child nutrition and school lunch programs. The few recent opportunities that explicitly reference chard or its botanical variants are sparse; instead, the recent solicitation activity tags fresh produce procurement more broadly—including fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens—under produce-family codes. When chard appears in scope documents, it is typically embedded within line-item catalogs of 60–300+ produce items rather than solicited as a standalone commodity. School districts including Madison Metropolitan, Northside Independent, McAllen Independent, and multiple Georgia school systems (Bartow County, Bulloch County, Dougherty County, Bryan County, Glynn County, Liberty County, Muscogee County, Savannah-Chatham, Henry County, and Douglas County) have posted RFPs, RFQs, and IFBs for fresh produce during the past four months, with response dates ranging from May through July 2026. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the State of Georgia have also solicited bulk produce—carrots, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, and broad fresh-produce categories—for institutional food service. Head Start of Greater Dallas and the Hillsborough County Public Schools Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program round out the institutional buyer base, with contract values where disclosed ranging from $600,000 annually (HCPS FFVP) to $3.1 million (Meriden Public Schools).

Geographic concentration is heavily weighted toward Georgia and Texas. Georgia school districts—particularly in Bartow, Bulloch, Dougherty, Bryan, Glynn, Liberty, Muscogee, Savannah-Chatham, and Henry Counties—account for the plurality of recent solicitations, with most RFPs and IFBs posted in March through May 2026 and bid deadlines in April through June. Texas procurements cluster around the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (bulk commodity IFBs for carrots, white potatoes, and sweet potatoes with June 2026 deadlines), NISD in Bexar County, McAllen ISD, and Austin ISD. Secondary activity appears in Florida (Hillsborough County Public Schools), Missouri (Rockwood R-VI), Connecticut (Meriden Public Schools), and a single unidentified Georgia agency (posting date June 4, 2026). Representative recent opportunities include the Northside Independent School District (Bexar County, Texas) RFP 2026-048 for fresh produce delivery to 117 campuses with a May 7, 2026 deadline; the Douglas County School System (Georgia) cooperative RFP SN 26-004 for produce and eggs across 30 districts with an estimated annual value of $5.5 million and a March 4, 2026 due date; and the McAllen Independent School District RFP 2026-1029 for fresh produce across 31 campuses with a March 6, 2026 deadline. Most solicitations emphasize USDA Buy American compliance, HACCP certification, domestic sourcing where cost and quality permit, and weekly or twice-weekly delivery to multiple school sites. Set-asides or preference programs are rarely named; Texas procurements occasionally reference HUB status or Texas principal place of business as evaluation factors. The activity is robust and ongoing, with contract terms typically spanning July 2026 through June 2027, suggesting sustained procurement momentum through the end of calendar year 2026.