UNSPSC 50405304: Buffalo onions

The variety of onions known as buffalo onions

UNSPSC 50405304 Buffalo onions is a Commodity code that captures state and local procurement of fresh produce for institutional food service, with recent solicitations showing strong demand for onions as a component of broader school nutrition, child care, and correctional facility food programs. State and local governments are buying onions primarily as line items within comprehensive fresh-produce contracts, ready-to-eat prepared produce for federal child nutrition programs, and bulk commodities for institutional canning and kitchen operations. School districts and state departments of criminal justice dominate the issuing-body mix, with secondary participation from Head Start providers, county boards of education, and municipal departments. The geographic concentration is heaviest in Texas (Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Austin ISD, McAllen ISD, Northside ISD) and Georgia (Bartow County Schools, Dougherty County Board of Education, Bryan County Schools, Glynn County Board of Education, Douglas County School System via the GEC Buying Cooperative), with scattered activity in Florida (Hillsborough County Public Schools), Missouri (Rockwood R-VI School District), and Connecticut (Meriden Public Schools).

Recent representative opportunities include Bryan County Schools' sealed-bid procurement for 790+ cases of onions as part of its fresh-produce RFP (posted April 27, 2026, due May 27, 2026); the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's bulk commodity solicitations for carrots, sweet potatoes, and white potatoes for institutional canning (IFBs issued June 2–June 23, 2026, with multiple responses to TDCJ Procurement Portal); and Head Start of Greater Dallas's IFB for grocery products including produce varieties covering approximately 32,409 cases across multiple categories (posted June 24, 2026, with pre-bid April 16, 2026, estimated contract value $969,460.94). Douglas County School System's cooperative procurement through GEC Buying Cooperative spans 30 school districts across two Georgia areas with approximately $5.5 million in estimated annual spend for 72 produce line items (RFP due March 4, 2026). School districts uniformly require weekly deliveries Monday–Friday between 6:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., HACCP certification, traceability documentation by farm of origin, compliance with the Buy American Act, general liability insurance ($500,000–$2,000,000 minimums), and pricing based on USDA Agricultural Marketing Service or Consumer Price Index indices where applicable. Most contracts run July 1 through June 30 with optional one-year renewals and include evaluation weighting heavily on cost (30–50%), product quality, and delivery reliability.