The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program is a tiny part of USDA’s child-nutrition portfolio, yet plenty of groups want their products approved for the trays of healthy snacks given for free to schoolchildren in the poorest neighborhoods, says Politico. It describes “dueling food lobbies … eager for kids to be building eating habits around their foods.” Trade groups for frozen food, canned food and dried fruit are “deeply unhappy at being left out” of the program.
“We’re losing an opportunity to educate youngsters about fruit and vegetable consumption in all forms,” Joe Clayton, of the American Frozen Food Institute, told Politico. The fresh-snack program was championed by now-retired Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa and has a budget of $177 million a year. Its requirement that only fresh produce can be served “is a rare corner of school nutrition not dominated by canned, frozen and dried foods,” says Politico. “This fall, with Congress likely to take up legislation to reauthorize child nutrition programs, the canned and frozen lobbies believe it’s their moment to change the rules—and the retired Harkin won’t be there to stop them this time.”
There has been a long-running tussle over inclusion in the program. Reps. Bruce Poliquin of Maine and Kurt Schrader of Oregon filed a bill this week to allow frozen, canned, dried and pureed fruits and vegetables to be served. Politico says the bill has the support of a number of key Republicans and Democrat Marcia Fudge of Ohio, who is a senior member of the House Education Committee, which oversees school nutrition.