6-28 FB Beans Lunch

 There is an obesity epidemic in this country that affects one in 3 of our children. That is of great concern to all corners of our society but the agricultural community certainly has a strong role in all of this. And that is where post crops enter the picture. They are an inexpensive, nutritious, low-fat and high fiber source of nutrition.  Well it turns out that the US Senate agrees.  I am David Sparks and in a minute I am going to tell you about some dietary recommendations for school lunches that are designed to  help in the battle of the bulge.  The US Senate has approved  Democratic Sen. from the state of Washington Maria Cantwell’s  bipartisan amendment to the Farm Bill that would make school meals healthier and help create agriculture jobs throughout the NW by increasing the use of pulse crops in school breakfasts and lunches. Pulse crops, which include dry peas, dry beans, lentils, and chickpeas, are nutritious, inexpensive and support thousands of agriculture jobs in in our area. Here’s Tim McGreevey, CEO of The American Pulse Association: “We have 2 primary goals. One is to increase funding for health and nutrition as well as working on school feeding programs.” So if you are a pulse crop producer, you ought to be proud.