The National Potato Council (NPC) from USA succeeded to put the potato back on the approved list for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children or WIC, following a lengthy process. 

All fresh fruits and vegetables except potatoes had been included in the WIC program. The WIC target population is low-income, nutritionally at risk, as pregnant women, breastfeeding women (up to infant’s 1st birthday), non breastfeeding postpartum women (up to 6 months after the birth of an infant or after pregnancy ends), infants (up to 1st birthday) and children up to their 5th birthday.

NPC First Vice President and Vice President of Legislative and Government Affairs Committee James Tiede explained: 

“Seven years and over USD 700,000 has been spent trying to get potatoes back on the WIC program. White potatoes were excluded about nine years ago and it has taken us seven years to get in back in — even though it is a healthy product full of vitamins, full of potassium and vitamin C. It is in the preparation that some people have turned the great potato into a non healthy potato. But there are hundreds of ways to prepare this — it is a great product for any kind of a taste.”

Tiede says, according to aginfo.net, that the biggest issue growers had with the potato’s exclusion from the program was that the potato has always been nutritious food source.

“It’s a bad thing to have a government agency the U.S. saying, ‘Don’t eat potatoes that are not healthy.’ And they are! So we wanted to get that back into the WIC program and we got it back into the school lunches. Potatoes are a good healthy product — if prepared correctly — it is a vitamin packed, nutritious product”, added Tiede.

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