UNSPSC 50407040: Lotus root

The type of vegetable known as lotus root

UNSPSC 50407040 Lotus root is a Commodity code that encompasses fresh produce sourcing for institutional food service, grounded in state and local solicitations that show schools, criminal justice agencies, and child nutrition programs buying fresh vegetables and fruits for meal preparation and snack distribution. The code appears in practice to capture a wide range of fresh produce procurement rather than lotus root specifically; recent opportunities consistently show school districts, Head Start programs, and correctional agencies requesting competitive bids for fresh vegetables, fruits, and produce commodities on an annual or multi-year basis. Issuing bodies span independent school districts (Madison Metropolitan, Northside ISD, Austin ISD, Hillsborough County Public Schools), county school systems (Muscogee, Glynn, Bryan, Bulloch, Dougherty, Douglas, Liberty, Henry, Early, Savannah-Chatham, Rockwood R-VI), state agencies (Texas Department of Criminal Justice, State of Georgia), and nonprofit child nutrition providers (Head Start of Greater Dallas, McAllen ISD). These jurisdictions typically require vendors to deliver fresh produce meeting USDA standards, HACCP compliance, and food safety certifications, with pricing often firm for 12-month contract periods and delivery schedules ranging from weekly to multiple times weekly across multiple school or facility sites. Many solicitations impose geographic sourcing preferences (produce grown within 50–400 miles of the purchasing location) and weight cost, quality, delivery reliability, and vendor qualifications equally in award decisions.

Geographic activity concentrates in Texas, Georgia, Florida, Connecticut, and Missouri, with Texas and Georgia showing the highest recent posting density. Representative recent opportunities include Madison Metropolitan School District's RFB 4163 (posted July 8, 2026, due July 29, 2026) for approximately 5,900 weekly servings of ready-to-eat fresh fruit and vegetable snacks sourced within Wisconsin and 400 miles of Madison; Head Start of Greater Dallas IFB 26-GP (posted June 24, 2026) seeking primary, secondary, and tertiary suppliers of frozen foods, produce, and meat for Child and Adult Care Food Program compliance, estimated at $969,460.94 over five years; Northside Independent School District RFP 2026-048 (posted April 14, 2026, due May 7, 2026) covering fresh produce delivery to 127 campuses across Bexar County five days weekly, with evaluation weighting purchase price at 35%; and Douglas County School System RFP SN 26-004 through the GEC Buying Cooperative (posted February 4, 2026, due March 4, 2026) for produce and eggs across 30 Georgia school districts with estimated annual spending of $4.4–$5.5 million, requiring net-cost-plus-fixed-fee pricing tied to USDA terminal market reports. Activity in this code remains robust through mid-2026, driven by federal school meal program funding, USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program grants, and child nutrition appropriations.