Beth A. Chestnut

Beth A. Chestnut serves as Supervisory Contract Specialist at FCI Elkton, a Federal Correctional Institution under the Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Prisons. In this role, she oversees the full lifecycle of procurement activities critical to sustaining the nutritional and subsistence needs of the incarcerated population. Her responsibilities include planning, soliciting, evaluating, and awarding contracts for food services, ensuring strict compliance with federal regulations, food safety standards, and operational continuity requirements. She primarily manages acquisitions for perishable and non-perishable food commodities, dairy, bakery products, and wholesale grocery supplies, aligning procurement strategy with the agency’s mission of safe, consistent, and nutritionally compliant meal provision. While specific contractor names are not publicly disclosed, Chestnut maintains collaborative relationships with a diverse array of food service suppliers, including commercial bakeries, dairy wholesalers, and general line grocery merchant wholesalers. Her contracting approach emphasizes reliability, scalability, and adherence to federal food safety protocols, fostering long-term vendor partnerships that support just-in-time delivery and inventory resilience across a high-volume, mission-critical environment. Chestnut demonstrates a strong commitment to small business participation, with nearly half of her acquisitions structured as Total Small Business Set-Asides under FAR 19.5. Her procurement patterns reflect a deliberate focus on socioeconomic opportunities, consistently prioritizing small business vendors without reliance on specialized set-aside programs such as 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB. This balanced approach ensures competitive sourcing while expanding access for qualified small food suppliers. Her technical expertise centers on NAICS codes 311999 (Miscellaneous Food Manufacturing), 424410 (Grocery Merchant Wholesalers), and 424430 (Dairy Product Wholesalers), with significant activity in commercial baking and fluid milk procurement. She brings specialized knowledge in perishable supply chain management, cold chain logistics, and dietary compliance, ensuring all acquisitions meet federal nutritional guidelines and institutional food service standards.