Wendy Penn

Wendy Penn serves as a key procurement professional within the Agricultural Marketing Service’s 3J14 office, overseeing the acquisition of processed agricultural commodities critical to federal nutrition assistance programs. Her responsibilities center on managing full lifecycle contracts for the procurement of shelf-stable, preserved food products—including canned, frozen, and dried items—aligned with USDA’s mission to ensure reliable, safe, and nutritious food supplies for vulnerable populations. She specializes in complex, high-volume acquisitions governed by federal food procurement regulations, with a focus on supply chain resilience and product consistency across large-scale distribution networks. Her primary contractor relationship is with Navcor Logistics LLC, a trusted vendor with demonstrated capacity in the handling, storage, and distribution of bulk food commodities under strict federal quality and safety standards. Penn maintains a consistent, long-term contracting pattern with this partner, reflecting a preference for proven performers with established logistics infrastructure and compliance expertise. While she engages with a limited pool of qualified vendors, her approach emphasizes reliability, regulatory adherence, and operational scalability over competitive bidding cycles. Wendy Penn’s procurement portfolio reflects a strict no set-aside policy, with 100% of awards issued under full and open competition. This approach prioritizes efficiency and scale over socioeconomic preferences, aligning with the agency’s operational need for consistent, high-volume delivery of standardized food products. While small business participation is not formally incentivized, her contracting decisions are driven by vendor capability, past performance, and supply chain readiness rather than socioeconomic criteria. Her technical domain is exclusively focused on NAICS 311225—Fats and Oils Refining and Blending—indicating deep specialization in the procurement of processed lipid-based food ingredients and blended commodity products used in institutional meal preparation. This niche expertise underscores her command of food science standards, shelf-life protocols, and industrial food manufacturing processes critical to federal food assistance programs.