Stabenow, Concannon stay strict on fresh fruit and vegetables, sodium
September 30, 2015 |06:11 PM
Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., today repeated her commitments to maintaining fresh fruits and vegetables in the nation’s school meals programs and also to reducing sodium in the meals.
In a speech to the United Fresh Produce Association, Stabenow said of the bill to reauthorize the child nutrition programs that expire today, “There won’t be one unless it’s right.”
Holding up a half-cup measuring cup, Stabenow said she is committed to maintaining that size of fruit and vegetable serving with school meals, and added she wished it would be a full cup.
“We don’t need a half-cup of sodium, either,” Stabenow said, referring to the campaign by the School Nutrition Association to stop any further cuts in sodium levels in school foods.
Stabenow also said she would not support opening up the fruit and vegetable snack program to frozen, canned and dried products.
“Every other nutrition program includes ‘all forms,’” Stabenow said, referring to the wording that the American Frozen Food Institute and other groups use when talking to Congress about the program.
“We have one that’s only fresh. That’s not too much,” she added.
After the speech, Stabenow told reporters that the Senate Agriculture Committee had gotten “positive” scores on some proposals for rewriting the child nutrition bill, such as increasing summer feeding programs. She declined to provide further details, but said that she and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., are still in negotiations about a possible bipartisan bill.
The bill should focus on equipment, training, and providing more salad bars, Stabenow told United Fresh.
Stabenow told reporters there had been some “positive steps” on the bill. However, she also told the United Fresh executives gathered in Washington that school meals used to be bipartisan, but “it’s very unfortunate we have seen politics come into this in a very strident way.”
“Don’t let people get away with gobbledygook,” Stabenow told the United Fresh executives as they headed to Capitol Hill. “Folks should not get away with playing political games with this.”
Agriculture Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Service Kevin Concannon made the same points when he spoke to United Fresh on Monday, Politico reported.
“Don’t fall for the propaganda that comes from certain parts of industry - not your industry, happily - that would have us weaken those standards,” Concannon said, referring to proposed changes to the school meal rules under the 2010 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.
“I don’t think there’s a need to change the $177 million [program] to accommodate other forms,” Concannon said. “I think our purpose was really to expose students to fresh fruits and vegetables. We support all forms, but we have $14 billion to purchase all forms. The $177 million is really targeted to that niche.”
Concannon also said he’s concerned about the “temptation” to relax the future sodium restrictions, a move he believes is unnecessary, Politico said.
“Most schools are meeting it [the 2017 standard] right now,” Concannon said, calling the reduction “modest.” If the regulations do end up causing big trouble for schools and kids won’t eat the lower-sodium food, “then they can be waived,” he said. “We don’t need to have the law itself weakened.”
In a speech to the United Fresh Produce Association, Stabenow said of the bill to reauthorize the child nutrition programs that expire today, “There won’t be one unless it’s right.”
Holding up a half-cup measuring cup, Stabenow said she is committed to maintaining that size of fruit and vegetable serving with school meals, and added she wished it would be a full cup.
“We don’t need a half-cup of sodium, either,” Stabenow said, referring to the campaign by the School Nutrition Association to stop any further cuts in sodium levels in school foods.
Stabenow also said she would not support opening up the fruit and vegetable snack program to frozen, canned and dried products.
“Every other nutrition program includes ‘all forms,’” Stabenow said, referring to the wording that the American Frozen Food Institute and other groups use when talking to Congress about the program.
“We have one that’s only fresh. That’s not too much,” she added.
After the speech, Stabenow told reporters that the Senate Agriculture Committee had gotten “positive” scores on some proposals for rewriting the child nutrition bill, such as increasing summer feeding programs. She declined to provide further details, but said that she and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., are still in negotiations about a possible bipartisan bill.
The bill should focus on equipment, training, and providing more salad bars, Stabenow told United Fresh.
Stabenow told reporters there had been some “positive steps” on the bill. However, she also told the United Fresh executives gathered in Washington that school meals used to be bipartisan, but “it’s very unfortunate we have seen politics come into this in a very strident way.”
“Don’t let people get away with gobbledygook,” Stabenow told the United Fresh executives as they headed to Capitol Hill. “Folks should not get away with playing political games with this.”
Agriculture Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Service Kevin Concannon made the same points when he spoke to United Fresh on Monday, Politico reported.
“Don’t fall for the propaganda that comes from certain parts of industry - not your industry, happily - that would have us weaken those standards,” Concannon said, referring to proposed changes to the school meal rules under the 2010 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.
“I don’t think there’s a need to change the $177 million [program] to accommodate other forms,” Concannon said. “I think our purpose was really to expose students to fresh fruits and vegetables. We support all forms, but we have $14 billion to purchase all forms. The $177 million is really targeted to that niche.”
Concannon also said he’s concerned about the “temptation” to relax the future sodium restrictions, a move he believes is unnecessary, Politico said.
“Most schools are meeting it [the 2017 standard] right now,” Concannon said, calling the reduction “modest.” If the regulations do end up causing big trouble for schools and kids won’t eat the lower-sodium food, “then they can be waived,” he said. “We don’t need to have the law itself weakened.”
