UNSPSC 50407200: Tubers

Underground stem modified and bulged where plant stock nutrients are accumulated.

UNSPSC 50407200 Tubers, a Class code, describes fresh produce items—primarily potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots—that state and local governments procure for school nutrition programs, institutional food service, and federal child nutrition initiatives. Recent solicitations show school districts and state criminal justice agencies buying tubers in bulk for meal preparation, with emphasis on compliance with USDA Child Nutrition Reimbursable standards, food safety certifications, and regional sourcing where specified by contract terms.

School districts dominate solicitation activity under this code, including Madison Metropolitan School District in Wisconsin, Northside Independent School District in Texas, and numerous Georgia school systems (Bartow County, Dougherty County, Bryan County, Glynn County, Liberty County, Muscogee County, and others), alongside institutional buyers such as the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and Head Start child care programs. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice appears multiple times as a repeat buyer of white potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots for institutional canning and food service across multiple facilities. The code shows heavy geographic concentration in Georgia and Texas, with additional activity in Wisconsin, Florida, Missouri, Connecticut, and other states. Representative recent opportunities include Madison Metropolitan School District's RFB 4163 (due July 29, 2026) for approximately 5,900 servings weekly of fresh fruit and vegetable snacks with strict local sourcing within 400 miles and ready-to-eat packaging requirements; the Texas Department of Criminal Justice IW241979-A (due March 17, 2026) for 1,200 tons of carrots meeting dimensional specifications; and Northside Independent School District's RFP 2026-048 (due May 7, 2026) for fresh produce delivery to 117 campuses five days per week with USDA Buy American compliance and Texas-grown produce prioritization. Tuber procurement typically runs July through June school years or July through June institutional cycles, with contracts featuring firm pricing for 12 months, price redetermination windows after six months based on USDA Agricultural Marketing Service or Consumer Price Index data, and optional renewal periods extending up to five years. Evaluation criteria commonly weight cost heavily (30–50 percent), followed by product quality and availability (15–30 percent), vendor qualifications and experience (10–20 percent), and compliance with delivery and food safety standards.