Cherry Meat Packers, Inc.

Cherry Meat Packers, Inc., doing business as The Chicago Meat, supplies frozen beef commodities exclusively to the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a prime contractor under partial and total small business set-asides. The vendor is a for-profit manufacturer of goods headquartered in Chicago, Illinois (4750 S California Ave, Chicago, IL 60632), operating under NAICS 311611 (Animal except Poultry Slaughtering) and PSC 8905 (Meat, Poultry, and Fish), with registered SAM.gov status since 2000. All beef products are sourced from livestock born, raised, and harvested exclusively in the United States, meeting Buy American requirements for federal food assistance programs.

Cherry Meat Packers operates predominantly under small business set-asides — the vast majority of its recent awards carry partial small business set-aside or total small business set-aside designations, with only a handful of full-and-open awards. The vendor competes as a prime contractor exclusively; it holds no subcontractor relationships in the source data. Across 2,408 total awards dating to 1981, the vendor has accumulated $1.3 billion in combined potential value, with $1.46 billion obligated. Recent activity has remained modest relative to the historical portfolio: 2022 through 2026 show 13, 20, 26, 13, and 10 awards per year respectively. Within the next twenty-four months, three awards totaling $15.5 million reach ultimate completion and face recompete.

The customer concentration is heavily weighted to USDA components. The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service dominates by dollar value (305 awards, $940.6 million combined potential value), followed at substantial distance by the Agricultural Marketing Service Washington Office (149 awards, $234.5 million) and the Agricultural Marketing Service (214 awards, $12.2 million). The Defense Logistics Agency accounts for 1,060 awards by count but carries no stated potential-value figures in the source, suggesting those awards may represent historical or low-value task orders. The top five customers by award count represent 72% of all awards; the top four by potential value represent 92% of dollars.

Recent representative work includes a $10 million definitive contract awarded September 21, 2026 by USDA Food and Nutrition Service for frozen beef commodities (85/15 and 100% lean ground beef, fine ground beef) under partial small business set-aside; a $16.4 million award from Food and Nutrition Service dated July 1, 2026 for 100% pure beef in 85/15 and 90/10 lean ground blends and fine ground beef; a $13 million award from Food and Nutrition Service dated June 15, 2026 for assorted frozen beef products including beef strip loin, fine ground beef, and lean beef patties; and a $2.18 billion definitive contract dated April 28, 2026 for fine ground frozen beef in 1-pound packages. All awards specify Chicago, Illinois as place of performance, with delivery to multiple states, Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories in support of the Emergency Food Assistance Program, Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, and National School Lunch Program. The vendor does not sit on named IDIQs or GWACs; top parent vehicles in the source are indefinite delivery contracts under Defense Logistics Agency (DLA13H84CD150, DLA13H87CD011, DLA13H87CD015) carrying one to two task orders each.