1-12 FB Potatoes & WIC

 The potato, a big part of the potato state, is being scrutinized as a food source. Imagine that. I’m DS.

There has been a recent effort to limit or altogether ban potatoes from the diets of children who are enrolled in federal child nutrition programs. In fact, the Institute of Medicine, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, recommended that the U.S. Department of Agriculture stop participants of the federal Women, Infants and Children program, known as WIC, from buying potatoes with federal dollars. This agency has also urged school lunch menu planners to limit the amount of potatoes that are included in children’s dietary regimens at school. The argument isn’t so much that potatoes are just plain bad for you, after all, they’re loaded with potassium and vitamin C. The argument is that children should be eating other things a well such as fruits, whole grains and vegetables. Well duhhh! Supposedly in schools the potato is the most common vegetable. How about common sense. Don’t stop buying potatoes…just include them. A call to the institute of Medicine was unanswered.