House bill would override USDA on WIC and school food | Food and Environment Reporting Network

The House’s spending bill for USDA in fiscal 2015 includes provisions sought by some farm groups and by GOP conservatives. The House Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture is scheduled to vote on the bill this morning. The draft makes white potatoes part of the WIC food basket; USDA wanted to exclude them on grounds WIC recipients get enough starch.

The bill also “will allow schools demonstrating an economic hardship to seek a temporary waiver from compliance with certain nutrition regulations during the 2014-15 school year,” says a committee statement. To qualify, schools would have to show a net loss for at least six months on food operations.

First Lady Michelle Obama strongly urged food activists “to fight agribusiness’s lobbying efforts to allow schools to opt out of the mandates to reduce sodium, increase whole grains, and increase servings of fresh fruits and vegetables in lunches,” said the Washington Post. The School Nutrition Association and Rep Rodney Davis said the new rules drive up costs and waste food.

“The agriculture appropriations bill is setting up to be a battle between first lady Michelle Obama and critics who complain that healthier lunch standards are running kids out of the school lunch program,” said DTN.

For the text of the House bill, click here. The WIC rider is Section 738 and the school lunch waiver is Section 739. They appear on pages 78 and 79.