The Massachusetts Operational Services Division (OSD) has reopened GRO42 K-12 School Nutrition Products under COMMBUYS solicitation BD-26-1080-OSD03-OSD03-128294, alternate ID GRO42.
Deadline and status
The current COMMBUYS header shows the bid as OPEN with a bid opening of September 22, 2026 at 2:00 PM. COMMBUYS does not separately label a time zone, so Atlas does not infer one. The amendment history on the same official page contains an earlier entry stating that the opening date had been changed to September 28, 2026 at 2:00 PM. Because the current live header now shows September 22, Atlas treats the earlier September 22 deadline as the safe controlling cutoff unless OSD issues clarification.
Products and procurement structure
GRO42 is a statewide K-12 school nutrition products contract covering organic and non-organic produce, groceries, meat and poultry, seafood, dairy products and eggs, prepared foods and locally sourced products. OSD’s current contract guide states that GRO42 supports Massachusetts K-12 schools and other eligible entities and is designed to help buyers comply with federal and state procurement requirements, including the USDA Buy American provision.
This is a vendor procurement, not a grant, so no applicant match or cost-share requirement applies. COMMBUYS allows electronic quotes. The public posting does not state a fixed contract ceiling, so Atlas does not invent one.
Bidder materials and amendments
The official posting lists the amended RFR, amended Bidder Response Form, Category 1 and 2 market-basket/quote files, Category 3 locally sourced food pricing files, Supplier Diversity Program Plan, Prompt Payment Discount Form, Category 3 Food Safety Compliance Form, amended evaluation criteria, COMMBUYS quote job aid, required contract provisions, Commonwealth Terms and Conditions, credit/return and quality-control reference templates, product-recall protocol, and the August 2026 bidders-conference materials.
The amendment log shows multiple August 2026 changes, including amended evaluation criteria, amended pricing files, a bidder-conference registration link, a Category 3 Food Safety Compliance Form, an amended bidder response form, and an August 26 amended RFR. Amendment 10, posted September 11, 2026 at 9:59:02 AM, added the official GRO42 Q&A-09Sept2026 file. Bidders should review that Q&A together with the latest amended RFR and response files, and verify the official deadline discrepancy before submission. Michael Barry is the listed information contact at michael.barry3@mass.gov and 617-720-3182.
COMMBUYS also indicates that an unfinished Quote already exists for this bid. Atlas will not initiate a duplicate response.
Atlas assessment
Atlas Opportunity Score: 72/100. School Funding/Procurement Relevance: 95/100. N9+ Fit: 0/100. QC Healthcare Fit: 0/100. Dr. Miltie direct-vendor fit: 0/100. This is a food and school-nutrition supply contract and presents no legitimate N9+, QC Healthcare, or Dr. Miltie pursuit. The correct posture is Research Summary Only / No Bid.
Official source: Massachusetts COMMBUYS BD-26-1080-OSD03-OSD03-128294. Current contract guide: GRO42 Statewide Contract User Guide.