WASHINGTON — A new bill introduced Nov. 5 in the U.S. Senate would open the school fresh fruit and vegetable snack program to frozen, canned, dried and pureed varieties, and may be offered as an amendment to the Childhood Nutrition Reauthorization Act when it’s marked up.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) introduced the Fruit and Vegetable Access for Children Act (S. 2243), along with Sens. Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Daniel Coats (R-IN) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), to expand the forms of fruits and vegetables in school districts with low-income families participating in the Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program.

“We should allow our schools in Wisconsin the flexibility they need to provide nutritious foods for our children,” Johnson said. “By opening the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program to all forms of fruits and vegetables, schools utilizing the program are given the opportunity to maximize the nourishing snacks they provide children with taxpayers’ dollars.”

The American Frozen Food Institute hailed the bill for expanding the U.S. Department of Agriculture program and no longer restricting schools to serving only fresh produce.

“This expansion will give schools year-round access to the widest possible variety of healthy and affordable fruits and vegetables in all forms, including frozen,” AFFI Interim President Joseph Clayton said in a statement.

But the United Fresh Produce Association has long opposed changing the successful snack program. Johnson tried to change the program during the last farm bill debate, and lawmakers agreed to a one-year pilot program of five states to test changing the program’s focus. The U.S. Department of Agriculture could only find four states that would even test it, said Lorelei DiSogra, vice president of nutrition and health for the United Fresh Produce Association.

DiSogra said opponents of the bill have delivered letters to Johnson and Donnelly from school districts, parents and teachers in their states in favor of keeping the program fresh.

“We reached out to many schools with FFVP in Indiana and they don’t want to see it changed,” she told The Produce News. This is not about the children, she added. Indiana was in the first wave of schools to participate in the school program, and there have been no problems with delivering fresh products.

Some 40 produce groups wrote Senate and House committee leaders earlier this year in favor of the program known for introducing 4 million low-income elementary students to a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables every day.

“A national evaluation demonstrated that the FFVP significantly increases children’s fruit and vegetable consumption, is very popular with schools, parents and children, and schools say the FFVP also results in students eating more fruits and vegetables at lunch,” the groups said.

DiSogra noted the latest legislative attempt for the first time includes pureed products, those blended pouches of fruits and vegetables.

While Congress has few legislative days left until the end of the year, the bill’s sponsor appears to be eyeing it as an amendment to the Childhood Nutrition Reauthorization Act, which has yet to be marked up in the Senate Agriculture Committee. The panel may take it up this month if there are agreements on several hot-button issues.