UNSPSC 50405403: Crowder peas

The variety of peas known as crowder peas

UNSPSC 50405403 Crowder peas is a Commodity code that captures fresh vegetable procurement for school nutrition programs, institutional food service, and farm-to-school initiatives. State and local governments under this code buy fresh produce as bulk ingredients for child nutrition reimbursable meal programs, USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program snacks, and institutional cafeteria operations. Recent solicitations show school districts dominating the buyer pool—Madison Metropolitan School District, Hillsborough County Public Schools, Northside Independent School District, and Georgia school districts including Bulloch County, Glynn County, Liberty County, Muscogee County, and Bartow County all posted produce bids in the first quarter of 2026. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is a repeat institutional buyer, issuing multiple vegetable and potato bids (carrots, sweet potatoes, white potatoes) for canning and bulk food service. Head Start programs, city senior services, and independent school districts round out the issuing-body mix. Scope requirements consistently emphasize USDA compliance, traceability documentation (farm of origin), HACCP certification, commercial general liability insurance typically at $500,000 to $2,000,000, weekly or twice-weekly delivery with temperature control, and pricing indexed to USDA market reports or fixed on a per-pound or per-case basis. Geographic preference or local-sourcing requirements appear in many school district RFPs, with 200- to 400-mile local-grown mandates in Georgia and Texas solicitations.

Geographic activity is heavily concentrated in Georgia and Texas. Georgia school districts—Bartow County, Bryan County, Dougherty County, Bulloch County, Glynn County, Liberty County, Muscogee County, Savannah-Chatham County, and Henry County—posted produce bids between late March and May 2026. Texas entities including the Department of Criminal Justice, McAllen Independent School District, Northside Independent School District, and Austin Independent School District similarly solicited produce through IFBs and RFPs from February through April 2026. Florida (Hillsborough County) and Connecticut (Meriden Public Schools) posted fresh produce RFPs. Recent representative opportunities include Madison Metropolitan School District's RFB 4163 for fresh fruit and vegetable snacks (5,900 servings weekly, due July 29, 2026, with 5% diverse-owned business preference), Glynn County Board of Education IFB 27-02 for fresh produce across 16 schools (due April 14, 2026), Douglas County School System RFP SN 26-004 through GEC Buying Cooperative covering 30 districts across two Georgia areas totaling approximately $5.5 million annually (due March 4, 2026), and Hillsborough County Public Schools RFP 26039RFQDST for USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program delivery to 18 elementary schools (18 schools with potential expansion, $600,000 estimated annual budget, due March 11, 2026).