Today, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bipartisan agreement, authored by Senators Susan Collins (R-Me) and Mark Pryor (D-AR), that would allow families using the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program to purchase all fresh, healthy vegetables, including the white potato, which has been excluded from the program:
The agreement, included in the Fiscal Year 2015 Agriculture appropriations bill, would allow all fresh vegetables, including the fresh, white potato to be included in the WIC program immediately upon enactment of the bill.
It’s important to note that the language also states that vegetables with added sugars, fats, or oils cannot be purchased using WIC vouchers.
The provision also requires USDA to commence the next scheduled regular review of the WIC food package, including an evaluation of the nutrient value of all fresh fruits and vegetables, to determine the long-term inclusion or exclusion of any fresh fruit or vegetable. USDA would be required to report back to Congress with its findings.“USDA’s decision ought to be driven by nutritional facts and food science. In that kind of review, the fresh, white potato wins, hands down. The potato has more potassium than bananas, a food commonly associated with this nutrient, which is important for pregnant women and new mothers. Potatoes are cholesterol-free, fat-free, and sodium-free, and can be prepared in countless healthy ways.
Maine Senator Susan Collins making the case for potatoes in 2011
A medium baked potato contains 15 percent of the daily recommended value of dietary fiber, 27 percent of the daily recommended value for vitamin B6, and 28 percent of the daily recommended value of Vitamin C,” Senator Collins said. “It also defies logic that WIC participants may purchase fresh white potatoes sold at a farmers’ market but may not purchase fresh white potatoes sold in grocery stores. Potatoes are an affordable and nutrient-dense food that all WIC participants should be able to purchase regardless of the where they are sold.”
Currently, fresh white potatoes are the only fresh fruit or vegetable excluded from the approved WIC food package, which sends a message to Americans that potatoes are not nutritious and inappropriately limits the choices of those using WIC vouchers. Potatoes' exclusion from the U.S. Department of Agriculture rule went into effect in December 2009 and is based on recommendations of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans report, which uses consumption data that is nearly 20 years old.
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, however, recommends five to six cups of these vegetables per week for women with a daily caloric intake of 1,800 to 2,400 calories — an increase of two to three cups per week from the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The National Potato Council - who has worked hard to get the exception for potatoes undone - released a statement related to this agreement:
We are grateful to the Senators and staff from both sides of the aisle who reviewed the science and the history of the WIC fruit and vegetable voucher program, and supported a path forward that will allow WIC participants access to fresh potatoes.
Based on the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the most recent CDC consumption data, all Americans, including WIC participants, are under consuming nutritionally rich potatoes. Since potatoes are a recognized source of potassium, fiber, and folate – nutrients that are deficient in many WIC participants’ diets – adding them to this important federal nutrition program is grounded in science and common sense.
Reversing the ban on fresh potatoes in the WIC program has been a priority of the U.S. potato industry for some time, and today’s action by the Senate Appropriations Committee brings us one step forward to that goal. We look forward to the review of the fruit and vegetable components of the WIC food package, which we believe will maintain the valuable role of fresh potatoes in WIC participants’ diets.
We are confident that allowing participants to purchase any fresh fruit or vegetable in the produce aisle reinforces WIC program’s mission to provide both nutrition and nutrition education for low-income women, infants, and children who are found to be at risk. In addition, adding inexpensive, nutrient-dense potatoes to the basket will help WIC mothers stretch their WIC dollars and reduce confusion at checkout.
WIC is one of the most successful nutritional programs implemented by the federal government, and we will continue to work with the nutrition community to educate WIC participants about the value of fresh potatoes in their diets.
National Potato Council 2014 Potato D.C. Fly-In
