WASHINGTON — Some students at Union County Middle School in Liberty, Ind., had never seen a pear until the school joined a federal pilot program five years ago that offers fresh fruits and vegetables as snacks.

Now in 14 states, the program could be expanded across the country under a $290 billion farm bill that sets the nation's agriculture policy for the next five years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fruit and Vegetable Pilot Program currently operates in Utah, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Texas, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina, Washington, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania.

As lawmakers fight over the details in the farm bill — the Senate wrapped up writing its version last week — supporters say its snack program can further promote health at a time when a third of U.S. children are overweight or on the verge of it.

When the program started in Union County, students were skeptical about fruits and vegetables they had never tasted.

"It used to be we could hardly give it away," said school cafeteria manager Betty Huddleston, "Now they want to buy it."

Students at her school are eating kiwi and jicama, and have tried bok choy and red bananas.

The bill could expand the snack program from annual funding of $6 million to $225 million.

Some critics, however, say that's enough, contending that the nation's longstanding support of rice, corn and wheat contributes to the obesity epidemic. About three-quarters of the billions in subsidies each year between 1995 and 2004 went for feed crops and direct aid to meat and dairy production, according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Less than 1 percent went to fruit and vegetable production.

The subsidies make calorie-high foods like meats, grains and cheeses cheaper, fueling consumption, experts say. "When there are surpluses, those foods are dumped into the school lunch program," added a public health specialist with the committee.