UNSPSC 50405305: Bulb onions

The variety of onions known as bulb onions

UNSPSC 50405305 Bulb onions, a Commodity code, encompasses fresh onion supply to state and local institutional food service operations—primarily prisons, secure care facilities, schools, and senior centers. Recent solicitations show state and local buyers procuring yellow or white onions in bulk (50-pound bags), whole or pre-cut, as a staple vegetable line item within larger food service contracts. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Illinois Department of Corrections, and Georgia school districts drive the bulk of recent activity, with issuing bodies spanning state departments, county school systems, municipal senior-service divisions, and institutional food facilities. Work is primarily administrative competitive procurement—IFBs, RFQs, and sealed-bid RFPs with firm-fixed pricing on F.O.B. Destination terms, typically bundled within broader fresh-produce or consumables lots rather than as standalone commodity buys. Vendors must meet USDA quality standards, provide clean and blemish-free product, maintain cold-chain delivery, and submit compliance certifications including E-Verify, debarment status, and insurance documentation.

Activity concentrates in Texas and Georgia, with scattered school-district and state-agency solicitations posted from May through October 2026. Representative recent opportunities include the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's RFQ for fresh fruit and vegetables to Palestine (due October 19, 2026) and Snyder and Wynne food warehouse locations (due October 14, 2026); Bryan County School Nutrition Program's sealed-bid procurement for approximately 790 cases of onions for school year 2026-2027 (due May 27, 2026); and the Illinois Department of Corrections' IFB for fresh produce delivery to Joliet Treatment Center, specifying yellow or white onions in 50-pound bags with bi-weekly delivery (due September 3, 2026, small-business set-aside). No onion-specific contracts or sole-source procurement is evident; onions appear as one line item within multi-product food service solicitations, competing on price and compliance rather than as differentiated commodity purchases. Contract values and volumes are not disclosed in most recent notices; estimated quantities in school-district bids range from 260 to 790 cases annually depending on student population and meal-service volume.