Potato

By: Amelia Attwood, RD, LD

Potatoes are the ultimate comfort food although not just in the United States. Potatoes contribute to global food security all around the world.  Potatoes and sweet potatoes are ranked as two of the world’s most-produced crops. There are more than 4,000 different types of potatoes and the main varieties are waxy, all purpose, and mealy potatoes. The waxy potatoes come in an assortment of colors including purple, blue, red, and golden that stem from the Red Potatoes and Fingerlings varieties. The all-purpose potatoes come in yellow, white, red, and purple and commonly stem from the Yukon Gold variety. The mealy potatoes come in white, orange, and purple and commonly stem from the Russet Burbank or Sweet Potato varieties.

Potatoes and sweet potatoes like any other vegetable are nutrient dense. Potatoes are rich in fiber, carbohydrate, potassium, vitamin C, and B6.  The key to reaping health benefits from potatoes is to eat the skin. Half of the dietary fiber consumed from a potato originates from the skin. Setting aside a bristled scrubbing brush for the skins of fruits and vegetables alone can help with removal of all dirt prior to consumption, making the fibrous skin edible.  Potatoes and sweet potatoes are carbohydrate dense and therefore energy dense foods.  To balance consumption of an energy dense food at mealtimes, combine it with another non starchy vegetable for a 50/50 combination of starchy to non-starchy.  A great example of this is how mashed potatoes are often served alongside green beans at the holidays. Overall sweet potatoes are rich in beta-carotene, the antioxidant responsible for supporting vision, but both potatoes and sweet potatoes provide balanced meals to support immune function and heart health.

The producers of the potatoes featured at school this month are known as State Line Produce located in Lime Springs, Iowa. Their produce commonly travels along the Iowa Food Hub routes. The Iowa Food Hub has been bringing healthy, locally grown food to schools, colleges, restaurants, and grocery stores in Iowa as a part of their nonprofit mission. Another returning producer of potatoes featured at school this month is Driftless Organics located in Soldier Grove, Wisconsin. They are a 100-acre farm in the ridge and valley fields of Southwest Wisconsin. They sell fruits, vegetables, and sunflower oil across the Midwest through farmer’s markets and grocers.