WASHINGTON – Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. John Baldacci have asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase 10 million pounds of frozen wild Maine blueberries.

Maine’s wild blueberry growers yielded a harvest of 100 million pounds, 15 million pounds more than the record-breaking crop of 1992.

In a letter to USDA Secretary Dan Glickman, Baldacci and Collins called on the USDA to authorize a “bonus buy” of blueberries for the federal school lunch program.

The two members of Congress encouraged the USDA to make the purchase because this year’s growing season yielded a “magnificent crop.”

“While the demand has been relatively strong, this is an extraordinary increase in the size of the crop. Industry leaders are acting promptly and aggressively to market the crop to protect the economic health of growers and processors. Part of this effort includes the request for a bonus buy,” Collins and Baldacci said in their letter to Glickman.

“We also want to point out that recent research, including projects undertaken in Agricultural Research Service laboratories, has shown the wonderful health benefits [an antioxidant] of wild blueberries. A bonus buy of 10 million pounds would help Maine’s wild blueberry industry and benefit the children participating in the school lunch program,” the delegation members said.