Staff Contributor
Chester County potato growers could see a boost in sales if the United States Department of Agriculture allows low-income pregnant and nursing mothers to buy white potatoes with the vouchers they receive from the federal WIC program.
The Associated Press is reporting lawmakers from 40 potato growing states are urging Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to include white potatoes among the fruits and vegetables approved by the WIC program.
That could be good news for farmers like Gerald and Vicki King of the King Potato Farm in Cochranville. This fourth-generation farm family grows flavorful Kathadin potatoes which are sold to restaurants, markets and from their farm from September harvest until March.
Hillary Krummrich, director of the Chester County Agricultural Development Council, said she is not sure how many other potato growers there are in Chester County. Many small farms do grow potatoes and the Chester County government offers a guide to local farms and farm outlets.
The potential change in WIC regulations is sailing like a lead spudnik in some nutrition circles.
What may be good for agriculture may not be good for women and children, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Public Health Association, the Associated Press is reporting. These organizations said in a joint statement that “to change the WIC food package because of pressure from the potato industry” could make the program less effective and that Congress should not be deciding what foods should be included in the program.
Lisa Larson, director of the Chester County WIC program, said she is not allowed to comment on the issue. The Associated Press does quote Douglas Greenaway of the National WIC Association in saying it’s “unconscionable” and a bad precedent for a food industry to try to dictate what is allowed in WIC. “That should be dictated by science,” Greenaway said.
As for the nutritional science, Mark Szymanski of the National Potato Council points out that the USDA’s own dietary guidelines issued in 2010 recommend consuming starchy vegetables. He says a potato provides healthy potassium, dietary fiber and folate and that economical potatoes could help low income mothers stretch food dollars.
USDA spokeswoman Brooke Hardison said the agency “continues to believe in the importance of basing the nutrition standards for WIC on the best science available.” The Associated Press reported that if Vilsack chooses not to add potatoes to WIC offerings, he has to submit a report to Congress explaining why.
The Associated Press also reported that in 2012, more than 70 Republican and Democratic members of the House wrote Vilsack to promote the nutrition benefits of potatoes and protest their omission in WIC, saying it sends the wrong message to low-income mothers and “suggests a ‘government knows best’ mentality inconsistent with individual choice and promotion of self-responsibility.”
The King family, which has grown potatoes on their 150-acre farm since 1949, has posted some favorite family potato recipes on their web site here.
