UNSPSC 50407073: Qawinca

Vegetable variety known as qawinca

UNSPSC 50407073 Qawinca, a Commodity code, encompasses fresh fruit and vegetable snacks and specialty produce items sourced for institutional food service programs, including ready-to-eat snacks, pre-packaged portions, and bulk fresh produce delivered to schools, child care facilities, senior centers, and correctional institutions. State and local buyers under this code span school districts (elementary through high school), early childhood programs (Head Start centers, child care facilities), corrections departments, senior services divisions, and school nutrition authorities operating across multiple states. The work being solicited ranges from weekly deliver of pre-cut, pre-packaged produce snacks to elementary students participating in federal Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Programs (FFVP), to bulk commodity procurement for institutional kitchens, to fresh local produce sourcing for farm-to-school initiatives. Recent activity shows heavy concentration among school districts in Georgia and Texas, with additional solicitations in Florida, Connecticut, Missouri, and elsewhere, reflecting nationwide demand for compliant produce and snack items meeting USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and National School Lunch Program specifications.

School districts dominate the issuing-body mix, with representative recent solicitations including Madison Metropolitan School District (Wisconsin) posting RFB 4163 for Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Snacks with bids due July 29, 2026 (approximately 5,900 servings weekly from producers within 400 miles, with $0.20 per pound organic preference discount and Wisconsin diversity-owned business preference); Northside Independent School District (Texas) issuing RFP 2026-048 for fresh produce delivery five days per week to all campuses, proposals due May 7, 2026; and Bartow County School System (Georgia) requesting local fresh fruits and vegetables under RFP 10-2026-019 with proposals due June 22, 2026. Additional high-volume opportunities include Hillsborough County Public Schools (Florida) seeking specialty fruits and vegetables for the FFVP under RFP 26039RFPDST with proposals due March 11, 2026 (contract value approximately $600,000, estimated annual spend); Meriden Public Schools (Connecticut) procuring commercial groceries and produce for $3.1 million in school-year 2026-2027 under RFP 026-41, proposals due February 25, 2026; and early childhood programs such as Head Start of Greater Dallas, Inc. issuing IFB 26-GP for frozen foods, produce, and meat products (approximately 32,409 cases, estimated value $969,460.94, proposals due June 24, 2026). Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has posted multiple commodity-specific IFBs for bulk carrots (IFB IW253079, IW241979-A seeking 1,200 tons), white potatoes (IFB IW253099), and sweet potatoes (IFB IW253121), reflecting institutional food service demand. Georgia state and county school systems account for the densest recent activity, with solicitations from Dougherty County, Bryan County, Bulloch County, Glynn County, Liberty County, Muscogee County, Henry County, and Douglas County schools all posted between mid-March and late May 2026. Evaluation commonly weights cost heavily (typically 30–50 percent), with secondary emphasis on product quality, delivery compliance, local or domestic sourcing, and disadvantaged-vendor status where applicable; many solicitations impose USDA Buy American requirements, HACCP certification mandates, and traceability documentation. Set-asides and preferences vary: Wisconsin diversity preference (5 percent), Texas service-disabled veteran and Texas-based vendor priority, Georgia local-producer preferences (within 200–400 miles), and federal affirmative contracting encouragement under CACFP and FFVP funding. Contract terms typically run July 1 through June 30 (school fiscal year) with renewal options extending one to four additional years; delivery schedules are weekly or twice-weekly, Monday through Friday, with early-morning (5:30–7:00 a.m.) and midday (up to 2:30 p.m.) windows; and insurance requirements generally range from $500,000 to $2 million general liability. Geographic concentration is strongest in Texas, Georgia, and Florida, with secondary activity in Missouri, Connecticut, Wisconsin, and scattered jurisdictions nationwide; Texas procurement volume is particularly high given TDCJ commodity buys and large school district RFPs (Austin ISD, Northside ISD, McAllen ISD).