UNSPSC 50405303: Boiling onions

The variety of onions known as boiling onions

UNSPSC 50405303 Boiling onions, a Commodity code, names a single fresh-produce line item that state and local governments procure as part of broader food-service operations, particularly for school nutrition programs and institutional cafeterias. Recent solicitations show school districts, county boards of education, and state departments of criminal justice buying boiling onions alongside mixed fresh-produce assortments — not as standalone items, but as components of weekly or annual produce contracts spanning dozens of line items from apples to tomatoes. The code appears in solicitations for child nutrition, school lunch compliance, and state institutional food service, where onions (including boiling varieties) are specified by pack size, case quantity, and delivery schedule as part of comprehensive meal-service procurement.

School districts across Georgia dominate recent activity, with issuing bodies including Bryan County Schools, Glynn County Board of Education, Dougherty County Board of Education, Douglas County School System, Liberty County Board of Education, Bulloch County Board of Education, and Henry County Schools all soliciting fresh produce that explicitly names onions as line items. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has issued multiple vegetable procurements (carrots, white potatoes, sweet potatoes) that mirror the scope and structure of onion bids, suggesting onions are similarly procured through IFB mechanisms for inmate food service. School nutrition programs show the strongest recent momentum, with RFP or IFB notices posted March through May 2026 for 2026-2027 school-year contracts. Representative recent opportunities include Glynn County Board of Education IFB 27-02 (sealed bids due April 14, 2026, for 16 school sites with fresh produce line items), Bryan County Schools sealed-bid procurement (bids due May 27, 2026, specifying approximately 790+ cases of onions among other produce), and Dougherty County Board of Education sealed-bid procurement (bids due June 16, 2026, for 40 produce line items including carrots and potatoes across 24 school nutrition sites). Douglas County School System, on behalf of 30 Georgia school districts through the GEC Buying Cooperative, issued RFP SN 26-004 (proposals due March 4, 2026) for approximately $5.5 million in fresh produce and eggs across two geographic areas, with unit pricing on USDA Atlanta Terminal Wholesale Market basis — a structure typical for onions when included. Georgia school districts show sustained procurement activity; Texas criminal-justice institutional food service and smaller operations in Florida, Missouri, Connecticut, and Texas round out the geographic spread. Most awards are made on line-item or lowest-responsive-bidder basis with firm pricing for initial contract periods and prospective price redetermination tied to USDA Agricultural Marketing Service or U.S. Department of Labor Consumer Price Index data.