WASHINGTON, D.C. — American Agri-Women (AAW), a national organization that represents tens of thousands of women who work in agriculture across the U.S., and in Maine, has presented U.S. Senator Susan Collins with its “Champion of Agriculture Award” in recognition of her advocacy on behalf of Maine’s potato industry and U.S. farmers.
Present at the event held recently in Washington, D.C. were Sue McCrum of Mars Hill, the incoming president of American Agri-Women; Pam Townsend of Blaine, the VP of Maine Agri-Women; and Samantha McCrum, Sue’s granddaughter and AAW Legacy Kid scholarship winner.
In the United States Senate, Sen. Collins had led efforts to ensure that the fresh, white potato is included in federal nutrition programs. She authored an amendment to the 2012 Senate Agriculture Appropriations bill that prevented the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from limiting the white potato and certain other fresh vegetables in the National School Lunch Program and eliminating it from the Breakfast Program altogether.
Most recently, a provision Collins sponsored was included in the 2014 Senate Agriculture Appropriations bill that recommends USDA include the fresh, white potato in the WIC food package, a program that provides supplemental foods to meet the special nutritional needs of low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and infants and children up to five years of age who are at nutritional risk.
“The exclusion of fresh white potatoes sends a false message to WIC participants, and to all Americans, that the USDA believes that potatoes are not healthy. The truth is, when prepared properly, the potato is a wonderfully nutritious food that is inexpensive, easy to transport, has a long storage life and can be used in a wide array of recipes,” Sen. Collins said. “It makes perfect sense to include this healthy, locally grown vegetable in the WIC package.”
