04/21/05 Apple purchase

U.S.D.A.'s Agricultural Marketing Service is responsible for purchasing a variety of commodities that go to the Food and Nutrition Service for distribution to various school lunch, nutrition, and emergency food assistance programs. And according to David Tuckwiller of A.M.S., the agency's latest purchase involves apples. TUCKWILLER: We plan to purchase up to 78 million pounds of apples and apple products, which could include fresh apples, canned apples, and frozen apples. That's on top of the over 52 million pounds of apples and apple products already purchased in fiscal year 2005. Tuckwiller says while the purchases benefit recipients, A.M.S. is also helping growers. TUCKWILLER: We are here to assist domestic agriculture in providing a service to move products off the market that may not be moved otherwise. And the purchase comes at a time when U.S. apples, Northwest apples specifically, produced a near record crop. Tuckwiller says getting various commodity groups to participate in the program is not a difficult process for them. TUCKWILLER: The industry groups contact us. Many times they come in and meet with us. Often they just send e-mail or a memo asking for a specific purchase of a certain quantity. We have to then do our own independent analysis using government data to determine exactly what we feel the need really is, and also to work again with our sister agency, the Food and Nutrition Service to determine what types and how much they can actually move through their programs.