“The House voted 276-75 Wednesday to approve House Bill 535, which makes the white potato the state vegetable.
The bill had its genesis at the Derry Village School, where students researched the origins of the white potato in North America and found it was first planted in a field near the school in 1719, in what was known then as Nutfield.”

— Garry Rayno

When I saw the headline in the New Hampshire Union Leader, my first thought was, ‘Is the potato even a vegetable?’ According to nutritionists in the United Kingdom, it mostly is, sort of.

This bill certainly seems easy to support, especially since New Hampshire is the first state to plant the delicious tuber. Generally these children-submitted bills tend to pass. I have found that making a big to-do out of them just makes the people complaining look like a bunch of party poopers. Best to pass this bill quickly so the Legislature can move on and the everyone can forget what they just voted for.

I would, however, have to also agree with Rep. James Parison, R-New Ipswich, who prefers broccoli as the state veg.

“Making the white potato the official state vegetable sends a bad message to our children who should grow up knowing good food should be dark green and taste terrible,” Parison said.

Nothing like a little tough love from the Granite State.