Senators speak up in defense of potatoes 

USDA wants to drop spuds from federal WIC program

Cookson Beecher
Capital Press

April 11, 2008

Led by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a bipartisan group of U.S. senators has joined forces in an effort to have fresh white-fleshed potatoes included in a nutrition program for low-income families.

In an interim rule recently published by USDA, the potatoes would be excluded from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, commonly known as WIC.

In a statement provided to the Washington State Potato Commission, Murray said the state's potato industry and consumers deserve better than "this poorly thought out and contradictory rule."

"I will continue to work to ensure that potatoes are not unfairly targeted for exclusion from WIC programs," she said.

In her efforts on behalf of the industry, Murray has gathered support from fellow U.S. senators and sent a letter to the chairs and ranking members of the conference committee addressing the farm bill.

The letter requests that potatoes be included in the WIC program.

"While we support the USDA's efforts to update the Women, Infants and Children Program to include more fruits and vegetables, we are concerned by the exclusion of white potatoes in the new regulation," says the letter.

In 2003, as part of an update of WIC, the Institute of Medicine addressing the importance of expanding WIC to include fruits and vegetables.

However, it recommended that potatoes be excluded.

In 2006, the USDA proposed a rule to revise the WIC food packages, based in large part on those recommendations.

In December 2007, USDA published the interim rule.

Murray said she finds the recommendation to exclude potatoes from the WIC program troubling "because it is in sharp contradiction to the report's nutritional findings.

"It is illogical that USDA has excluded from the final WIC package a vegetable that contains at least four of the vitamins that are inadequate in the American diet," says the letter.

Taking a similar tack, Karen Bonaudi, assistant executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission, said that excluding the potatoes runs contrary to the "fresh fruit and vegetable reformation" that's picking up support across the nation.

"It's ironic that fresh potatoes would be left out of the 'reformation,'" she said.

According to industry research, potatoes are a source of potassium, vitamin C, fiber and many B vitamins.

The letter also notes that singling out potatoes for exclusion will create confusion among WIC program participants and administrative burdens for grocers and vendors.

Following Sen. Murray's lead, Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Gordon Smith, R-Ore.; Mike Crapo, R-Idaho; Larry Craig, R-Idaho; Olympia Snowe, R-Maine: Ken Salazar, D-Colo.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; Robert Casey, D-Pa.; and Carl Levin, D-Mich., have also signed the letter.

WIC is a federally funded special supplemental nutrition program for low-income and nutritionally at-risk women and their children through 5 years of age. Currently, over 50 percent of all infants born in the U. S. each year and 25 percent of all young children participate in the WIC program.

WIC serves 8.2 million people each year who receive vouchers for specific foods. WIC food packages, valued at about $38 per month, currently do not include fruits and vegetables and have not been significantly updated in 32 years.

Staff writer Cookson Beecher is based in Sedro-Woolley , Wash. E-mail: cbeecher@capitalpress.com. 

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