UNSPSC 50406421: Purple sweet potato

Variety of sweet potatoes known as purple sweet potatoes.

UNSPSC 50406421 Purple sweet potato is a Commodity code that captures state and local purchases of fresh and processed sweet potatoes for institutional food service — school nutrition programs, child care facilities, senior services, and correctional institutions. Recent solicitations show school districts and detention facilities sourcing sweet potatoes both fresh for meal preparation and processed for canning, with vendors expected to meet USDA quality and food-safety standards, deliver on fixed schedules to multiple sites, and comply with Buy American provisions and traceability documentation.

State and local issuing bodies pursuing this code span school districts (elementary through high school systems), state departments of criminal justice, and county boards of education across the Southeast and Texas. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has posted multiple root-vegetable procurement notices including sweet potatoes for canning and carrots; Georgia school districts — Bartow County Schools, Dougherty County Board of Education, Bryan County Schools, Liberty County Board of Education, Muscogee County Schools, Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, Henry County Schools, and Glynn County Board of Education — are actively soliciting fresh produce with sweet potatoes as line items alongside other root vegetables. The Bulloch County School District issued an RFP specifically for locally grown produce including sweet potatoes grown within 200 miles, with evaluation based on cost (30 points), alignment with requirements (20 points), product quality and availability (30 points), and services and support (20 points). Geographic concentration is heaviest in Georgia and Texas, with Georgia school nutrition programs dominating recent posting volume. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice issued IFB IW253121 for sweet potatoes for canning with a June 23, 2026 response deadline, requiring electronic submission through the TDCJ Procurement Portal via the Bonfire Hub system at https://tdcj.bonfirehub.com; Bulloch County Schools' local-produce RFP (PE55612NONST2027000000031) with a May 4, 2026 response deadline emphasizes seasonal availability, farm sourcing within 200 miles, and vendor support services as weighted evaluation factors. School districts typically award produce contracts on a line-item or regional-vendor basis with one-year terms and renewal options, while institutional buyers like correctional systems seek bulk canning-grade supply with firm pricing and extended contract windows.