U.S. dried Cranberries added to USDA school foodservice list

In collaboration with the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, the U.S. Cranberry Marketing Committee (CMC) and industry representatives announced on friday news from USDA Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack. Effective July 2014, schools will have the option to purchase dried cranberries from the Foods Available List (FAL) as part of the USDA foodservice procurement program. Previously, only cranberry sauce had been available.

“We are committed to being a part of the solution to healthier school meals and are very appreciative of USDA’s swift response along with remarkable collaboration from cranberry producers, trade associations and elected officials from across the country,” said Scott J. Soares, Executive Director, CMC. “To the overwhelming majority of foodservice professionals who told us they wanted greater cranberry product options and also expressed their support for expanding the USDA Foods Available List, I extend thanks from the U.S. cranberry industry for getting your ‘Cran On!’”

FAL is the USDA resource list of commodity food products. The list has been modified extensively in recent years with the goal to improve the nutritional options available to the nation’s school children. As a result of new guidelines, dried fruits, including cranberries, are creditable. Dried fruit credit at twice its volume, providing the equivalent of ½ cup of fruit in school breakfast and lunch for every ¼ cup served.

“Providing our children with balanced, healthy meal and snack choices during the school day is a priority for USDA,” said Charles Parrott, Agricultural Marketing Service Fruit and Vegetable Program Deputy Administrator. “This offers an additional opportunity for schools to expand their fruit and vegetable offerings to students.”

With a projected record-breaking crop for 2013, the USDA news comes at an auspicious time for a market hungry for new opportunities to promote U.S.-grown cranberries.

Next steps for the cranberry industry will be to engage in outreach efforts to educate and work with school foodservice professionals toward cranberry usage. Said Soares, “In addition to being healthy to eat, cranberries are incredibly versatile in cooking applications. In July, we unveiled five foodservice-friendly recipes in our School Lunch Toolkit that were very well received by school foodservice professionals and marked the start of our work to 'cran'-hance school meals.”

U.S. cranberries primary growing states are Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington and Oregon. They are also grown in Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, Minnesota, and Michigan.

For more information about the Cranberry Marketing Committee (CMC), visit uscranberries.com.