The us department of agriculture (USDA) has earned plaudits from the US produce industry, with its announcement in December to guarantee greater accessibility to fruits and vegetables for mothers and young children.

Mothers and children participating in the federal government’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children - better known as the WIC programme - now receive vouchers allowing fruit and vegetable purchases for the first time, according to an agency interim rulemarking published in the Federal Register.

Vouchers worth £4 will be provided to each participating non-breastfeeding mother, vouchers of £3 will be given to each child, and mothers who are breastfeeding will receive vouchers worth £5. The vouchers can be used to purchase any kinds of fruit or veg - fresh, frozen, canned, dried and 100 per cent juice - while potatoes are the only items specifically excluded. Under the old system, only breastfeeding mothers were allowed to use vouchers to purchase vegetables, and were limited to carrots only.

As a result of the changes, the percentage of WIC vouchers devoted to purchasing fruits and vegetables will increase from 0 to 2.7 per cent. The value of the vouchers for fruit and veg purchases will total nearly £500 million in 2008-12.

The PMA welcomed the announcement with open arms. “This is healthy news for our nation’s nutritionally at-risk mothers and their young children, who will now be able to enjoy more healthy, delicious fruits and vegetables without adding further to their financial worries,” said PMA senior vice-president of industry products and services Lorna Christie. “We applaud the USDA for using its policies and programmes to level the playing field, and to put the goals of the dietary guidelines within closer reach of this economically disadvantaged population.”

The Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) has also congratulated the USDA on its decision, hailing it as “the most significant change in the WIC programme in almost 30 years”.

“We’re very happy with the announcement that low-income women, infants and children will be getting these vouchers,” said Elizabeth Pivonka, president and ceo of PBH. “This has been the result of years of advocacy, and represents a significant change that will help increase fruit and veg consumption among the most at-risk of America’s children.

“We’re also pleased that all forms of fruit and vegetables are included. This is consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and will provide moms with more convenience and flexibility,” added Pivonka.

But Christie noted PMA’s disappointment that the USDA had excluded white potatoes. “Given how hard the USDA otherwise worked to ensure that programme participants would have access to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in various forms, we are disappointed that they would specifically exclude a popular staple like white potatoes, which is immersed in American, as well as other, cuisines,” she said.

The WIC programme has supported the health of low-income families for more than 30 years. The fruit and vegetable vouchers are one of the many changes WIC intends to make to bring the programme closer in line with the latest federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans, issued in 2005.

The programme serves 8.3m low-income pregnant and breastfeeding women, their infants and their children up to age five.

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