Changing nutrition program benefitsA year after the potato
industry convinced Congress to pass a law that the Agriculture
Department could not limit the amount of white potatoes children
are served in school meals, members of Congress are once again
pushing USDA to buy more of the starchy vegetable for children.
By: Jerry Hagstrom, Agweek WASHINGTON—A year after the potato
industry convinced Congress to pass a law that the Agriculture
Department could not limit the amount of white potatoes children
are served in school meals, members of Congress are once again
pushing USDA to buy more of the starchy vegetable for children.
In a June 27 letter, Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Rep. Gregory
Meeks, D-N.Y., and 91 other House members urged Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack to allow participants in the special
nutrition program for women, infants and children, known as WIC,
to buy white potatoes with their benefits. The signers of the
letter included House Agriculture Committee ranking member
Collin Peterson, D-Minn.