Dried Fruit for use in Domestic Food Assistance Programs

This solicitation, numbered 12-3J14-26-B-0331, is a combined synopsis and invitation for bid issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service for the procurement of dried fruit to support domestic food assistance programs. The acquisition is structured as a partial set-aside for small business concerns and is being conducted under the NAICS code 311423. No separate written solicitation will be issued; this announcement serves as the complete and only source of requirements. Offers must be submitted by the deadline of August 11, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and all proposals should be directed to the designated point of contact, Samantha Klagenberg, with secondary support available from Kelli Dawkins. The place of performance is in Washington, D.C., with deliveries expected to the USDA’s office located at 20250. The contracting activity includes detailed protest procedures managed through the USDA Ombudsman Program for Agency Protests, designed to offer an internal, non-litigious avenue for resolving concerns about procurement fairness. Interested parties are first encouraged to engage informally with the Contracting Officer; if unresolved, they may escalate to a formal protest filed with either the Contracting Officer or the Ombudsman. Formal protests require adherence to specific content and timing rules under FAR 33.104, and must be submitted electronically to SPE.inquiry@usda.gov as well as the Contracting Officer. Once a formal protest is filed, contract award or performance is suspended unless the government demonstrates urgent or compelling circumstances. The agency aims to resolve all protests within 35 calendar days. Importantly, initiating a protest under this program precludes the protester from simultaneously pursuing the same issue through the Government Accountability Office or any other external forum.