Shelia Tucker

Shelia Tucker serves as a key procurement professional within the Agricultural Marketing Service’s 3J14 office, responsible for managing the acquisition of dried and dehydrated food commodities to support federal nutrition assistance programs. Her work directly advances the agency’s mission to ensure a reliable, safe, and shelf-stable supply of processed agricultural products for vulnerable populations. She specializes in full-and-open competitive procurements under the NAICS code 311423, overseeing the sourcing of dried fruits, vegetables, and prepared meals that meet stringent USDA food safety and nutritional standards. Her acquisitions are strategically aligned with long-term supply chain resilience goals, emphasizing consistency, quality control, and compliance with federal food procurement regulations. Tucker maintains a primary working relationship with Navcor Logistics LLC, a trusted contractor with demonstrated capability in the end-to-end handling of dried food commodities—from manufacturing to distribution. Her contracting patterns reflect a preference for established vendors with proven experience in large-scale, high-volume food processing and logistics under federal contract requirements. She engages with contractors through firm-fixed-price and cost-reimbursement mechanisms, prioritizing performance-based deliverables and strict adherence to USDA quality assurance protocols. Tucker’s procurement portfolio is entirely non-set-aside, with 100% of awards issued under full-and-open competition. This reflects a strategic decision to maximize market competition and ensure access to the broadest range of qualified suppliers capable of meeting the technical and scale demands of national food assistance programs. While she does not prioritize socioeconomic set-asides, her approach ensures rigorous evaluation of vendor capacity, past performance, and compliance with federal food safety standards. Her technical expertise is concentrated in NAICS 311423, specializing in the procurement of dried and dehydrated food products, including freeze-dried fruits, vegetable flakes, and ready-to-eat meals. She possesses deep knowledge of food preservation technologies, moisture content specifications, shelf-life validation, and packaging requirements for federal distribution networks. Her domain expertise ensures that all acquisitions align with USDA’s nutritional guidelines and logistical constraints for nationwide delivery.