Collins praised for saving spuds in school lunch programs

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was lauded November 21 in Presque Isle at a luncheon in her honor for her work to retain healthy vegetables — namely the white potato — in the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs.
    On November 17, the United States House and Senate approved a 2012 Agriculture funding bill that includes a bipartisan amendment — authored by Collins and Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) — that will protect the flexibility of schools to serve healthy vegetables. The bill has since been signed by President Barack Obama.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed a rule that would limit servings of a certain category of vegetables that includes white potatoes, green peas, lima beans and corn, to a total of one cup per week in the National School Lunch Program. The proposed rule would have also banned this category of vegetables from the School Breakfast Program altogether.
Collins’ amendment prevents USDA from moving forward with this arbitrary, maximum limitation, while keeping the current requirement that school meals be consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
“I am delighted that my colleagues in both the House and the Senate have included our amendment in the final bill,” said Collins. “This means USDA cannot proceed with a rule that would impose unnecessary and expensive new requirements affecting the servings of healthy vegetables.
At Monday’s luncheon at The Crow’s Nest, Don Flannery, executive director of the Maine Potato Board, which hosted the event, called the issue a “tough battle.”
“Back in February, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke at a luncheon in Washington, D.C. and essentially said, ‘Get over it. This is the way it’s going to be,’” said Flannery. “You could hear the air being sucked out of the room, and at the time, everybody in the potato industry said, ‘We’re not going to win this one.’ But with the determination and efforts put forth by Sen. Collins, we did win this one, and we would like to extend a sincere ‘thank you’ to the senator for her hard work on that issue. It was a battle that didn’t come lightly.”
Also attending the luncheon was John Keeling, executive vice president and chief executive officer of the National Potato Council, and Maine Department of Agriculture Commissioner Walter Whitcomb.
“It is incredibly rare when you see the level of commitment and stay with an issue that we saw from Sen. Collins on this. We would absolutely not be here today without her leadership. She has built a level of esteem with her colleagues in the Senate that allowed her to create this opportunity,” Keeling said. “When you get a situation like this where an amendment was as controversial as this was — and as strongly opposed by the Administration as it was … this was one of the core parts of Obama food-o-rama and the Let’s Move initiative — for it to not even come to a vote, but was agreed to unanimously is an incredible thing.
“This was the most fun I’ve had in a very, very long time. The forces of good take it on the chin a lot on some of these issues related to food and agriculture,” he said, “and to be able to give one back was tremendous.”
Whitcomb said he respected Collins’ effort and commitment to home.
“There are a lot of things that command your attention in Washington, and a lot of things you could be doing, but she stayed with us on this issue,” he said. “The people of Maine and America thank you. This is a national issue for the potato, and one that impacted other states, so we thank you for your work. We’ve got one on our team and we’re all pretty proud.”
Collins told the 50 potato growers and industry representatives in attendance that the proposed rule was illogical.
“When I first learned about the proposed regulation from the USDA, I frankly could not believe it. Of all the issues that the Department could be working on, to target potatoes and try to get people to eat fewer potatoes just didn’t seem to me to be where the focus of the Department should be,” she said. “I am a member now of the Agriculture Appropriation Subcommittee which has jurisdiction over the Department of Agriculture’s budget.
“Secretary Vilsack came before us for his annual budget hearing, and I came equipped with props,” Collins said. “I don’t usually use props at hearings, but in this case it seemed appropriate. I brought a head of iceberg lettuce and one russet potato. I held them up and asked the Secretary which was more nutritious. The fact is, that in one single potato there are far more vitamins, more fiber, and more potassium than that whole head of iceberg lettuce. It’s not that I have anything against iceberg lettuce, but the Department was not proposing to limit the consumption of lettuce.”
The more Collins spoke with various officials — including school lunch directors in the state — the more the proposal didn’t make sense.
“It was pointed out to me by a school lunch director in southern Maine that under the proposed legislation, you could not have a baked potato and an ear of fresh corn anytime during the rest of the week,” she said. “Not only could you not have that ear of corn, you could not have potatoes in any form — in shepherd’s pie, chowders or stew, and you couldn’t have peas or lima beans.
“Some of the outside groups tried to make it all about french fries claiming that schools were serving french fries several times a week, which was just not true,” said Collins. “Their thought was that if potatoes were banned from the breakfast program and limited to one cup a week, that french fries would disappear. This was so absurd. This was the worst example of government overreach — Washington knows best — and an elitist approach that didn’t trust schools to provide healthy lunches for their students.”
Collins said she was fired up about the issue and “went out there with poster boards comparing the nutrients of potatoes with other more favored fruits and vegetables.”
“Everyone thinks to eat a banana for potassium, but you should really eat a potato. There’s more potassium in a potato. If you eat the skin, you’re getting great fiber. There are four nutrients of concern that Americans aren’t getting enough of and potassium and fiber are two of the four,” she said, “and here the Department was proposing to take off of the menu a nutritious, affordable vegetable.
“The USDA estimates that this rule could have cost as much as $6.8 billion over five years. The lion’s share of these costs would be borne by school systems,” said Collins. “At a time when our schools are struggling and are under huge budget constraints, why in the world would we impose new regulatory costs of $6.8 billion … the majority of which they would be bearing. Again, it just didn’t make sense.”
Collins told those attending the luncheon that not only was the proposed rule “an insult to our potato farmers and to our school nutrition directors,” but it would have “sent a message to everybody that potatoes were bad and that you shouldn’t eat them.”
“After all, if the government were banning them from the school breakfast program altogether, there must be something wrong with them,” she said. “That’s what I was as worried about … that it was an unfair, inaccurate characterization of potatoes that the federal government was going to be sending to people, and that’s why I fought so hard for this.
“This was a great victory, and I want to thank all of you who alerted me to the issue and who helped me marshal the arguments,” said Collins. “I know Washington’s a very frustrating place for all of you, and for me these days, but occasionally through hard work and persistence, we can get things done. I’m delighted I could be your advocate.”