UNSPSC 50405616: Cascabel peppers

The variety of peppers known as cascabel peppers

UNSPSC 50405616 Cascabel peppers is a Commodity code that frames produce supplied to state and local school nutrition programs, child care facilities, and institutional food service operations. State and local governments buying under this code procure fresh peppers (and more broadly, fresh produce) for child nutrition reimbursable meal programs, USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program distributions, and institutional cafeteria operations. Recent opportunities show school districts, county school systems, and state departments of criminal justice as the primary issuing bodies, with Georgia and Texas generating the heaviest recent activity. The mix spans large urban districts (Northside ISD in San Antonio serving 117 schools, Austin ISD, Meriden Public Schools in Connecticut serving 13 schools), mid-sized county systems (Muscogee County, Liberty County, Glynn County, Bulloch County in Georgia), smaller rural districts (Early County, Bryan County in Georgia), and state-level procurement through the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the State of Georgia. A few cooperative purchasing vehicles appear: the GEC Buying Cooperative and Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Statewide Procurement Division on behalf of TDCJ.

Most recent activity clusters in the Southeast (Georgia, Florida), Texas, Connecticut, and Missouri. Representative opportunities include the Madison Metropolitan School District (Wisconsin) RFB 4163 for fresh fruit and vegetable snacks due July 29, 2026, requiring produce sourced within 400 miles of Madison and delivered ready-to-eat with farm-of-origin traceability (approximately 5,900 weekly servings for elementary students); Head Start of Greater Dallas IFB 26-GP for approximately 32,409 cases of produce meeting CACFP child nutrition standards, due June 24, 2026; the Northside ISD (San Antonio) RFP 2026-048 for fresh produce delivery to 117 campuses five days per week during the school year, proposals due May 7, 2026; the Hillsborough County Public Schools (Tampa) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program RFP due March 11, 2026 for specialty fruits and vegetables to 18 elementary schools; the Douglas County School System GEC Buying Cooperative RFP SN 26-004 for 30 Georgia school districts across two areas (estimated spend $5.5 million combined) due March 4, 2026; and the McAllen ISD RFP 2026-1029 for fresh produce across 31 campuses (approximately 20,000 students), proposals due March 6, 2026. Evaluation typically weights price heavily (30–50 percent), with secondary criteria on product quality, delivery and service capability, local or domestic sourcing preference, and compliance with USDA requirements. Many solicitations impose 400-mile locational sourcing filters, require GAP or HACCP certification, demand weekly or twice-weekly delivery to multiple sites, and set minimum insurance thresholds of $500,000 to $2 million general liability. Contract terms generally run July 1 through June 30 with optional one-year renewals (typically up to four additional years). The code shows active, recurring demand across school nutrition cycles with moderate to high incumbent replacement frequency as districts re-solicit annually.