Conference Committee Retains Senate Amendment Supporting Potatoes in School Meals

As the US legislation regarding school meal programs makes is way through the various stages of the approval process, a new stage has been reached and the provision that prohibits the USDA to set limits to vegetables is preserved in the current text under consideration as prepared by the conference committee.

On this occasion, the National Potato Council released the following statement:

The following statement is from John Keeling, Executive Vice President and CEO, National Potato Council (NPC), on the final conference report on the Fiscal Year 2012 Agriculture, Commerce/Justice/Science (CJS), and Transportation/Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bill. The conference report retained the bipartisan Senate amendment sponsored by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Mark Udall (D-CO) and adopted by unanimous consent. The amendment prohibits the use of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funds to implement rules that would set maximum serving limits on vegetables in school meal programs.

“This is an important step for the school districts, parents and taxpayers who would shoulder the burden of USDA’s proposed $6.8 billion school meal regulation that will not increase the delivery of key nutrients. The National Potato Council and our state and local partners appreciate the leadership of the conference committee in retaining the Collins-Udall amendment from the Senate agriculture appropriations bill. We hope to once again work with USDA to promote the nutritional and economic value of potatoes, which provide school food service professionals the flexibility they need to deliver healthy meals to students.”