Letter to Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture

Letter

On behalf of Minnesota farmers, U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) urged the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reexamine a proposed rule that would strictly limit the amount of starchy vegetables--including potatoes, corn, lima beans, and green peas--that can be served through the National School Lunch Program. Limiting access to these vegetables could hurt the bottom line of farmers all over the state and wouldn't necessarily increase the variety of vegetables in childrens' diets.

In a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, Sen. Franken implored the department to reconsider a proposed rule that would limit the use of white potatoes, corn, lima beans, and green peas in the National School Lunch Program to a total of one cup per week and eliminate their use entirely in the School Breakfast Program. The USDA rule was proposed to address a lack of vegetable variety in school meals, but could disproportionately affect producers in Minnesota without necessarily improving student nutrition.

"While I applaud the USDA's efforts to improve vegetable variety in our nation's schools, it's important that we consider the possible consequences of this rule on our farmers, and its disproportionate effect on Minnesota," said Sen. Franken. "That's why I urged the USDA to give our children the nutritious foods they need without making dramatic cuts to the dietary staples provided by Minnesota's agricultural producers."

The full text of the letter, which was also signed by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Max Baucus (D-Mont.), and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), can be found here.

Dear Secretary Vilsack,

Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a proposed rule limiting the use of white potatoes, corn, lima beans, and green peas in the National School Lunch Program to a total of one cup per week of all four vegetables, and eliminating their use entirely in the School Breakfast Program. It is our understanding that this restriction is designed to address a lack of vegetable variety in school meals.

While we applaud your agency's work to improve nutrition in schools, we are concerned that the proposed limitations on these vegetables may ignore some of the opportunities to gain from their nutritional benefits in ways that also add vegetable variety in children's diets. For example, potatoes, when they are baked instead of fried and are prepared with healthy toppings such as broccoli, can be part of a balanced meal that is high in potassium and dietary fiber.

Increasing the variety of vegetables in children's diets is desirable. However, we caution that placing strict limits on the use of certain vegetables could work against this goal, particularly if they are replaced with vegetables that children might be less likely to eat. For this reason, we urge you to account for factors such as plate waste in setting restrictions on the use of these vegetables can be prepared in cases where the preparation, rather than the vegetable itself, is the cause for concern.

Access to healthy, nutritious meals will help children stay focused and alert during the school day and establish lifelong healthy eating habits. We sincerely appreciate your efforts to improve child nutrition, and encourage you to consider all of the available data in setting limits on the use of various foods in school meals.

We look forward to following your progress on the final regulations.