WASHINGTON -- The United Fresh Produce Association is cheering a new proposed rule from the Department of Agriculture that would significantly increase the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables served to the 32 million students served by the National School Lunch Program.

The proposed rule, announced Jan. 13, seeks to align the National School Breakfast and Lunch programs with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines and Institute of Medicine's recommendations, both of which call for increased consumption of fruits and vegetables.

Aside from the dawning of 2011, New Year's weekend also brought freezing temperatures to much of California and Arizona, which have resulted in a bit of a supply gap for a number of vegetables items.

Tim Tomasello, sales manager of Ippolito International LP in Salinas, CA, said that the severity of the cold weather over the three-day weekend caught some people by surprise. Combined with a bunching of many crops prior to that and a few quality problems, this situation caused many vegetable prices to spike during the week of Jan. 10-15.

The Year of the Tiger is preparing to give way to the Year of the Rabbit with the commencement of Chinese New Year on Feb. 3, and U.S. produce marketers are looking to capitalize on the growing interest in Asian specialty items.

Robert Schueller, director of public relations for Melissa's/World Variety Produce in Los Angeles, said that fortune is smiling on the Year of the Rabbit. "This is the time of year when Americans are eating healthier," he told The Produce News. “Chinese New Year has become an Americanized holiday.”

Karen Ross, who is chief of staff for U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, was named to be the next secretary of the California Department of Food & Agriculture Jan. 12 by newly elected Gov. Jerry Brown.