Kelli Dawkins

Kelli Dawkins serves as a key procurement professional within the Agricultural Marketing Service’s 3J14 office, supporting the USDA’s mission to secure safe, shelf-stable, and nutritionally adequate food products for federal nutrition assistance programs. She manages the acquisition of processed agricultural commodities, including canned, frozen, dried, and prepared foods, ensuring reliable supply chain delivery to vulnerable populations. Her work centers on full-and-open competitions under FAR Part 13 and Part 14 procedures, with a focus on long-term, performance-based contracts that emphasize food safety, shelf-life stability, and compliance with USDA nutritional standards. Dawkins plays a critical role in translating programmatic needs into actionable procurement strategies that align with federal food assistance mandates. Her primary contractor relationship is with Navcor Logistics LLC, a trusted vendor with demonstrated capacity in the end-to-end handling of perishable and preserved food commodities, including cold-chain logistics, packaging compliance, and just-in-time delivery to federal distribution centers. Dawkins maintains a consistent, performance-driven partnership with this contractor, relying on its expertise in large-scale food processing and distribution. While Navcor is her most frequent awardee, she engages a broader base of qualified manufacturers through competitive solicitations, prioritizing vendors with proven compliance with FDA and USDA food safety regulations. Dawkins exclusively utilizes full-and-open contracting, with no set-asides applied to her portfolio. This reflects a strategic decision to maximize competition among qualified manufacturers with the technical capacity to meet stringent federal food procurement specifications, rather than prioritizing socioeconomic categories. Her approach emphasizes capability, capacity, and compliance over socioeconomic designation, ensuring the highest standards of food safety and supply reliability. Her procurement focus is concentrated in NAICS 311421 (Fruit and Vegetable Canning), which accounts for the majority of her activity, followed by 311999 (Miscellaneous Food Manufacturing) and 311411 (Frozen Fruit and Vegetable Manufacturing). She specializes in acquiring pre-prepared, shelf-stable foods that meet USDA’s nutritional guidelines for child nutrition and emergency feeding programs, demonstrating deep expertise in food processing technologies, preservation methods, and regulatory compliance frameworks.