UNSPSC 50406801: African bitter yams

The variety of yams known as african bitter yams

UNSPSC 50406801 African bitter yams, a Commodity code, appears in state and local procurement activity almost exclusively as a byproduct of broader institutional food service solicitations, particularly those for school nutrition programs and correctional facility meals, where produce categories are tagged to multiple commodity codes simultaneously. Recent opportunities show state and local governments buying fresh produce under this code primarily through school districts, county boards of education, and specialized agencies; the scope focuses on fresh fruits, vegetables, and processed produce for child nutrition programs, institutional food service, and USDA-compliant meal services rather than African bitter yams specifically. Madison Metropolitan School District (Wisconsin), Hillsborough County Public Schools (Florida), Northside Independent School District (Texas), and multiple Georgia school districts dominate recent activity. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice issues recurring commodity-level bids for specific vegetable types—carrots, white potatoes, and sweet potatoes for canning—suggesting institutional procurement at scale, though those solicitations show as individual commodity codes rather than aggregated produce family codes. Geographic concentration is heaviest in Georgia (school nutrition contracts across Bulloch, Bryan, Dougherty, Douglas, Glynn, Henry, and Liberty Counties), Texas (TDCJ, McAllen ISD, Northside ISD, Austin ISD), and Florida (Hillsborough County), with secondary activity in Connecticut (Meriden Public Schools) and Missouri (Rockwood R-VI School District).

Representative recent opportunities include Madison Metropolitan School District's RFB 4163 for Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Snacks (due July 29, 2026), requesting 5,900 weekly servings of ready-to-eat produce sourced within 400 miles of Madison under the USDA Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program with 5% diverse-owned business preference; Head Start of Greater Dallas IFB 26-GP for approximately 32,409 cases of frozen foods, produce, and meat products (due June 24, 2026) for child care under the Child and Adult Care Food Program; and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's IFB for bulk white potatoes (IW253099, due June 23, 2026) for institutional food service. School nutrition solicitations typically weight cost at 30–40%, product quality and availability at 15–30%, delivery and service capability at 10–20%, and compliance documentation at 5–15%, with awards commonly made to single or multiple vendors on a line-item basis. Contracts run July 1 through June 30 school fiscal years with one- to four-year renewal options, pricing firm for 60–90 days post-award with six-month redetermination windows, and delivery required to 10–60+ school sites Monday through Friday between 6:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Vendors must carry general liability insurance ($500,000–$2,000,000 per occurrence), comply with Buy American and USDA food safety standards including HACCP certification, maintain traceability documentation, and hold current business licenses and workers' compensation coverage.