White potatoes now eligible under WIC
White potatoes are now eligible for purchase under the Women, Infants and Children program or WIC program.
Congressman Mike Simpson played a huge role in getting potatoes included. He wrote an amendment to allow states to include potatoes in the program. The Idaho Potato Commission and organizations across the nation also pushed for change.
The WIC program provides monthly vouchers to those who qualify for a variety of foods. The list includes: milk, cheese, whole grain bread, fruits and vegetables. White potatoes were never eligible until now. Director of the program in eastern Idaho, Angy Cook, said it wasn’t to keep women or children from eating potatoes.
“White potatoes were never added to the list initially, so they weren’t taken off. They weren’t added because it is the number one vegetable that our population consumes so when we give them vouchers we like our participants to try things that they are not already eating,” said Cook.
Cook also feels the move in Congress could affect future WIC decisions.
“This decision was made politically it was based on lobbying and big industry, but every other time it was based on the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation. Circumventing this process potentially opens the doors for other industries or people who want their products on the WIC food package to do the same thing. Down the road it can really dilute the quality of what we are providing in the program,” said Cook.
Meanwhile, the President and CEO of the Idaho Potato Commission said the financial impact to potato growers was never a driving force.
“The benefit to me isn’t so much for the potato growers in Idaho and the U.S. The benefit is really to those women and children who were not able to use their WIC vouchers to purchase one of the most affordable and nutrient vegetables possible,” said Frank Muir.
Cook said she doesn’t know when potatoes will be added. She said changes typically occur on Oct. 1.
Qualifications for the program are based on income and household size. For more information visit,http://eiph.idaho.gov/WIC/wicmain.html.
