Recently, the House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment offered by Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) to require USDA to include fresh white potatoes as part of its Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. Rep. Simpson’s amendment was adopted by voice vote as part of the FY2014 Agriculture Appropriations bill, which was approved by the committee later that day.
In his comments before the committee, Rep. Simpson argued that fresh white potatoes have been unfairly excluded from the WIC program despite their obvious nutritional and economic value to participants, and that his amendment allows WIC mothers to make wholesome food choices for their families.
Members of the committee from both political parties expressed their support for the amendment. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) noted that as a potato grower herself, she is dismayed at the program’s inconsistencies, which allow for participants to use WIC vouchers to purchase fresh white potatoes in farmers markets but prevents them from buying potatoes in grocery stores. Reps. Bill Owens (D-N.Y.), Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), and Jim Moran (R-Va.) all joined in defending the potato’s role in a healthy diet and encouraged their inclusion within the program.
Full debate on the amendment begins at the 2:07-mark in the video seen here.
Over the past few years, NPC, the state potato organizations, and individual growers from across the country have weighed in with lawmakers urging them to take legislative action to reverse USDA’s ban on fresh white potatoes in the WIC program. While the agriculture appropriations bills must now be approved by both the full House and Senate, NPC is pleased that Rep. Simpson and the other amendment supporters have helped shine a spotlight on this very important policy priority issue for the U.S. potato industry.
