Amy Klobuchar reiterates she's sorry for defending frozen pizzas in schools

(Image credit: Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

published 23 April 2019

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) says she had a perfectly legitimate reason to stand up for frozen pizzas in school cafeterias, but still regrets taking a stand on the issue.

While answering questions during a CNN town hall in New Hampshire on Monday, the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate was asked about a 2010 letter she sent to the USDA, complaining about a new rule that would no longer count tomato sauce on frozen pizzas served in school cafeterias as a vegetable.

Klobuchar said she wasn't defending the pizzas, but rather farmers and businesses in Minnesota. "We were in the middle of the downturn, and it was a little more, I would say, complex in terms of the language," she said, adding that this was "fair criticism." In 2014, Klobuchar told The New York Times it was a mistake to send the letter, and she told the town hall audience she still regrets mailing it. The bigger issue, she added, is nutrition, and the "need to have healthier foods in kids' lunches."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.