UNSPSC 50406528: Hydroponic tomatoes

Hydroponic Tomatoes is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture which involves growing tomatoes without soil, by using mineral nutrient solutions in an aqueous solvent.

UNSPSC 50406528 Hydroponic tomatoes is a Commodity code covering the supply of controlled-environment-grown tomatoes to state and local institutional buyers, particularly school nutrition programs, child care facilities, and corrections systems. State and local governments procuring under this code are soliciting fresh produce—including but not limited to tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, and other vegetables—as part of broader food service contracts for schools, senior programs, and custodial institutions. The mix of issuing bodies reflects the fragmented nature of institutional food procurement: school districts dominate (Madison Metropolitan School District, Bartow County Schools, Dougherty County Board of Education, Bulloch County Schools, Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools, Henry County Schools, Glynn County Schools, McAllen Independent School District, Northside Independent School District, Hillsborough County Public Schools, Austin Independent School District, Rockwood School District, Early County Schools, and others) alongside state departments (Texas Department of Criminal Justice, State of Georgia), regional cooperatives (GEC Buying Cooperative serving 30 districts), Head Start programs, county social services divisions, and municipal senior nutrition programs. School nutrition procurement dominates by volume and frequency, driven by the USDA Child Nutrition Program reimbursement model and Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) federal grant funding.

Geographic spread centers heavily on Georgia (Bartow County, Dougherty County, Bulloch County, Savannah-Chatham County, Henry County, Glynn County, Bryan County, Liberty County, Muscogee County, and Douglas County Schools) and Texas (TDCJ, McAllen ISD, Northside ISD, Austin ISD, Hillsborough County in Florida, Madison Metropolitan in Wisconsin, Meriden in Connecticut, and others), with activity across multiple regions. Representative recent opportunities include Bartow County Schools' RFP 10-2026-019 for local fresh fruits and vegetables with a June 22, 2026 deadline, requiring 400-mile sourcing and weighted evaluation on cost (30 points), seasonal variety (25 points), and availability (15 points); Dougherty County Board of Education's sealed bid 016-SNS-2027 for fresh produce across 40 line items due June 16, 2026; Northside Independent School District's RFP 2026-048 for fresh produce due May 7, 2026, serving 127 schools across the San Antonio area; and Texas Department of Criminal Justice's IFB IW253099 and IW253121 for white potatoes and sweet potatoes, both due June 23, 2026, supplying institutional food service operations. School districts emphasize local/regional sourcing where feasible (200–400 mile radii), organic and whole-grain preferences, domestic Buy American compliance, HACCP certification, and delivery scheduling within 5–30-day lead times. Pricing in school procurements is typically fixed for 12 months with potential mid-contract adjustments tied to USDA Agricultural Marketing Service indices or Consumer Price Index data. Insurance requirements (general liability $500,000–$2 million per occurrence) and compliance certifications (debarment, E-Verify, non-collusion) are standard. No specific federal set-asides dominate these procurements, though Texas preferences for service-disabled veteran-owned and Texas-based vendors appear in TDCJ solicitations, and several school districts encourage small-business and minority-owned participation under federal matching-fund compliance requirements.