UNSPSC 50403410: Gherkin cucumbers

The variety of cucumbers known as gherkin cucumbers

UNSPSC 50403410 Gherkin cucumbers, a Commodity code, frames produce procurement for institutional food service — school districts, county governments, and state agencies buying fresh vegetables in bulk for child nutrition programs, inmate feeding systems, and senior services. Recent solicitations show districts and state entities purchasing fresh produce via competitive bid or RFP, with evaluation weighted heavily on cost (typically 30–50 points), product quality and freshness standards, delivery reliability to multiple school sites or institutional locations, and compliance with USDA Buy American provisions and food safety certifications including HACCP plans. The issuing bodies span school districts (Madison Metropolitan in Wisconsin, Northside ISD and Austin ISD in Texas, Bulloch and Douglas County in Georgia, Hillsborough County in Florida, Meriden in Connecticut), state departments (Texas Department of Criminal Justice, State of Georgia), and regional cooperative purchasing vehicles (GEC Buying Cooperative serving 30 Georgia districts). Gherkins appear only tangentially in this dataset; the code captures the broader institutional fresh-produce market where carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, broccoli, and leafy greens dominate actual line-item volume and spending.

Recent activity concentrates in Georgia and Texas, with secondary activity in Florida, Connecticut, Missouri, and Wisconsin. Representative solicitations include the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's carrot and sweet potato bids (IFB IW253079, IW253121, IW253099, issued June–July 2026 with due dates in late June); Hillsborough County Public Schools' Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program procurement (RFP 26039RFPDST, February–March 2026, estimated annual budget $600,000); the GEC Buying Cooperative RFP for 30 Georgia school districts (SN 26-004, February 2026, estimated $5.5 million annually across two areas); and Meriden Public Schools' commercial groceries and USDA Foods contract (RFP 026-41, February 2026, estimated value $3.1 million). Contracts typically run July 1 through June 30 with one to four optional one-year renewal terms. Most solicitations require weekly or twice-weekly delivery to school sites or state facilities between 6:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., FOB destination with all transportation costs included in pricing, and compliance with federal excise-tax exemptions for state purchases. Insurance minimums range from $500,000 to $2 million general liability. Incumbent vendors are rarely named, and set-asides for disadvantaged enterprises are not standard across these procurements, though some districts encourage small and minority-owned business participation and a few offer modest geographic or local-sourcing preferences.