MCLEAN, Va. – Members of Congress today called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to include more apples and apple products in the nation’s school lunches and other domestic feeding programs, to assist America’s struggling apple growers and improve the health of the nation’s school children.

Sens. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) and Carl Levin (D-Mich.) were joined by 25 of their senate colleagues, while Reps. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) and Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) garnered the support of 46 fellow members of the House of Representatives on letters to Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman.

“We are very concerned that the Department’s purchases of fresh apples from the 2000 crop are 56 percent below the volume of apples purchased from the 1999 crop, and purchases of processed apple products are down by 74 percent,” wrote the members of Congress. “We urge you to purchase at least the same volume of apples and apple products for the school lunch program and other domestic feeding programs as you have during the past two crop years.

Congress authorized an additional $200 million to purchase excess supplies of apples and other fresh fruits and vegetables affected by low prices as part of last year’s Agricultural Risk Protection Act, and specifically provided that these “bonus” buys should not replace regularly planned commodity purchases.

However, the volume of apple products purchased by USDA thus far this year is significantly below normal levels despite last month’s bonus buy of fresh apples and processed apple products.

“Apple growers are suffering from severely depressed prices for fresh apples, apple juice and other processed apple products,” said U.S. Apple Association (USApple) President and CEO Kraig R. Naasz, whose group is spearheading efforts to garner increased purchases of apples and apple products for the school lunch program. “We appreciate the willingness of our Congressional allies to address the pleas of apple growers, and we look forward to working with Agriculture Secretary Veneman to improve the economic conditions affecting our industry.”

“School lunch purchases offer the dual benefit of meeting the nutritional needs of America’s school children by providing them with healthy apples and apple products, while addressing the devastating economic conditions facing our nation’s apple growers by reducing excess supplies,” said Naasz.

America’s apple growers are facing extreme financial hardships caused by a host of adverse economic factors. In fact, growers have lost an estimated $760 million over the past three years due to unfairly priced imports, adverse weather conditions, continuing retail consolidation and rising regulatory costs among other factors, according to USDA statistics.

USApple members from the nation’s three dozen commercial apple producing states urged their members of Congress to cosign the House and Senate school lunch letters to Agricultural Secretary Veneman during their visits to Capitol Hill last month, and through countless telephone calls and letters to the nation’s capital.

The U.S. Apple Association (USApple) is the national trade association representing all segments of the apple industry. Members include 40 state apple associations representing 9,000 apple growers throughout the country, as well as nearly 500 individual firms involved in the apple business. USApple’s mission is to provide the means for all segments of the U.S. apple industry to join in appropriate collective efforts to profitably produce and market apples and apple products.