UNSPSC 50402804: Perpetual spinach chard

The variety of chard known as perpetual spinach chard

UNSPSC 50402804 Perpetual spinach chard, a Commodity code, covers fresh leafy greens that state and local school districts, Head Start agencies, and criminal justice facilities procure as part of institutional food service operations—though the recent solicitation activity under this code shows minimal direct spinach chard sourcing and instead reflects broader produce procurement patterns. School districts dominate recent activity, issuing RFPs and IFBs for comprehensive fresh produce supplies that bundle spinach chard alongside apples, carrots, broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, and other vegetables for child nutrition programs. A secondary buyer base includes Head Start programs sourcing produce for CACFP-compliant meals, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which procures vegetables for institutional canning and food service across multiple facilities. Representative recent opportunities span school districts in Texas (Austin Independent School District's RFP 26RFP034 for fresh produce and beverages, due March 11, 2026; Northside Independent School District's RFP 2026-048 for fresh produce, due May 7, 2026; McAllen Independent School District's RFP 2026-1029 for fresh produce, due March 6, 2026), Georgia (Bulloch County, Dougherty County, Bryan County, Liberty County, Muscogee County, Glynn County, and Henry County school systems all issuing sealed bids or RFPs for produce in March through June 2026), Florida (Hillsborough County Public Schools RFP 26039RFPDST for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program delivery, due March 11, 2026), Connecticut (Meriden Public Schools RFP 02641 for commercial groceries and produce, due February 25, 2026), and Missouri (Rockwood R-VI School District's grocery bid, due April 29, 2026). Head Start of Greater Dallas issued IFB 26-GP for grocery products including produce, due June 24, 2026, and the Madison Metropolitan School District posted RFB 4163 for fresh fruit and vegetable snacks under the USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, due July 29, 2026.

Geographic concentration is heaviest in the Southeast, particularly Georgia and Texas, which together account for roughly twenty recent solicitations ranging from late February through mid-July 2026. Florida, Missouri, and Connecticut show secondary but active procurement. Most school district solicitations emphasize USDA Child Nutrition Program compliance, domestic sourcing where applicable, weekly or twice-weekly delivery schedules, and produce meeting food-safety standards including HACCP certification and traceability documentation. Pricing structures vary widely—some districts use fixed unit pricing, others employ USDA market index–based markups, and several use cost-plus models. Evaluation typically weights cost at 30–50 percent, with quality, delivery reliability, vendor qualifications, and compliance rounding out the criteria. No set-aside designations specific to this code appear in the recent notices. The code itself sees limited direct activity for spinach chard in isolation; procurement specialists should expect to compete across broader fresh-produce categories where spinach chard functions as one line item among many, and responses will succeed or fail on ability to meet institutional scale, compliance complexity, and multi-item delivery logistics rather than single-commodity specialization.