- The 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans must recognize that potatoes are a vegetable.
- Congress must continue to allow equal access for potatoes in federal school meals regulations through the appropriations process.
- The Administration should eliminate provisions in the School Meals Proposed Rule that classify potatoes differently than other vegetables.
- Pennsylvania Co-Operative Growers members should ask their U.S. House and Senate members to sign on to the Congressional letter to Secretaries Vilsack and Becerra.
The Pennsylvania Co-Operative Growers has announced it is joining the National Potato Council in reinforcing the overwhelming science-based determination that “potatoes are a vegetable and consumption should be encouraged as potatoes are nutritionally valuable, flexible and low cost.” This comes in light of the ongoing process in determining the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs).
Officials from both organizations recognize that certain activist voices intend to place burdens and/or attempt to reclassify potatoes into another category entirely (grains). In their opinion, these efforts have no basis in science, raise costs for consumers and further burden federal nutritional programs with new costs. Both the Growers Association and the Potato Council assert, “Those costly and unscientific efforts should be rejected outright by the DGAs and all federal policymakers.”
Both organizations detail how for seven years a bipartisan provision has been included in every fiscal year’s Agricultural Appropriations Bill that prevents USDA from enforcing limitations on potatoes in accessing the school breakfast program. While the regulations are being reconsidered, it’s been revealed they still propose to limit potatoes in support of other vegetables that do not reflect current science.
Officials describe how Congress has appropriately stepped in and prevented the regulations from being enforced, as they “raise costs on the federal government and burden individual school districts in their daily attempts to comply with overly complicated mandates for school meals.” They emphasize that potatoes should be an option for those school meals professionals in constructing school breakfasts that kids will consume. They also assert, “This appropriations provision must continue to be maintained and/or updated as school meals regulations evolve.”
Officials add that the USDA released a proposed rule in February 2023 to update federal school meals regulations. This proposed rule does allow greater access for potatoes in school breakfasts than the prior limitations but continues to restrict potatoes from being served in school breakfasts all five days of the week.
As a result, the proposed rule continues to classify potatoes (via the ‘starchy vegetable’ category) as materially different from other vegetables. Due to this inaccurate difference, the rule requires that other vegetables are offered first before potatoes can be served two times in a row.
Group officials conclude, “There is no nutrition science to support the limitation and the reference data that USDA utilizes as justification is nearly a decade old. School meal operators should be able to choose and vegetable that they believe will be accepted by children.”
Nathan Tallman, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Co-Operative Potato Growers, emphasizes, “Potatoes are something good that’s good for you, they are also America’s favorite vegetable and usually the #1 side dish at any meal. It is important to our potato industry and consumers to keep this staple vegetable classified as such in the upcoming 2025 dietary guidelines.”
Nolan Masser, President of the Pennsylvania Co-Operative Potato Growers, adds, “Potatoes have been and continue to be America’s favorite vegetable. With all the pressing issues facing our nation – inflation, deficits, open borders, foreign wars – it is beyond ridiculous that our government still can’t agree that a vegetable is indeed a vegetable.”
The Pennsylvania Co-Operative Potato Growers and the National Potato Council strongly urge that potatoes be considered as equivalent to other vegetables. Additionally, “We encourage Congress to maintain and enhance the appropriations provision to ensure that current AND future regulations do not constrain potato access to the school meals program.”
Growers’ members are asked to please contact their U.S. Senator and Representative and
tell them:
- The 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans must recognize that potatoes are
vegetables. - They should maintain and enhance the appropriations provision to ensure that current
AND future regulations do not constrain potato access to the School Meals program.
Located in Harrisburg, PA, the Pennsylvania Co-Operative Potato Growers, Inc. is a non-profit organization serving as a vital link between the state’s potato growers and buyers. The group has been directly benefiting members across the state since its inception in 1922.
To better advise its members, PCPG is actively involved in the latest trends and processes in the world of potatoes. We are active members of the National Potato Council, United States Potato Board, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, and the Produce Marketing Association. PCPG also participates in the Penn State University Potato Research Program.
Another essential role PA Co-Operative Potato Growers plays is assisting potato growers and buyers as they market their products. For more information, go to pacooppotatoes.com
The Washington-based National Potato Council represents the interests of U.S. potato growers on federal legislative, regulatory, environmental and trade issues. The annual farm gate value of U.S. potato production is over $4.5 billion, delivering more than $100.9 billion in U.S. economic activity throughout the potato supply chain. The industry supports more than 714,000 American workers, both directly and indirectly. Learn more at nationalpotatocouncil.org.
