Carol Givens-Verser

Carol Givens-Verser serves as a key procurement lead within the Agricultural Marketing Service’s 3J14 office, overseeing the acquisition of processed agricultural commodities essential to federal nutrition assistance programs. Her responsibilities center on managing full lifecycle contracts for canned, frozen, dried, and prepared foods, ensuring compliance with federal food safety and shelf-stability standards. She plays a critical role in sustaining the supply chain that delivers nutritious, shelf-stable products to schools, food banks, and other domestic assistance initiatives. Her acquisitions are strategically aligned with USDA’s mission to enhance nutrition security through efficient, reliable procurement of preserved agricultural goods. Givens-Verser maintains a consistent working relationship with Navcor Logistics LLC, the primary contractor for the delivery and distribution of processed food commodities under AMS contracts. Her procurement approach emphasizes performance-based contracting, with a focus on logistics integration, cold chain compliance, and just-in-time delivery protocols. She engages with vendors through competitive sealed bidding and task order mechanisms, prioritizing operational reliability and regulatory adherence over cost alone. Her contractor partnerships reflect a preference for established suppliers with proven capacity in food processing and federal supply chain logistics. Givens-Verser’s contracting portfolio is entirely non-set-aside, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This reflects a deliberate strategy to maximize vendor participation from large-scale, high-capacity producers and distributors capable of meeting the volume and consistency demands of national food assistance programs. While small business participation is not formally incentivized through socioeconomic set-asides, her acquisitions remain accessible to all qualified vendors under FAR Part 12 streamlined procedures. Her procurement focus is exclusively centered on NAICS 311421—Fruit and Vegetable Canning—reflecting deep technical expertise in food preservation standards, processing specifications, and USDA commodity procurement guidelines. She manages contracts for canned fruits and vegetables, frozen vegetables, dried fruits, and prepared meals, ensuring alignment with federal nutrition requirements and food safety protocols under the Food Safety Modernization Act.