WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced the Streamlining International Food Assistance Act of 2024, legislation that strengthens the United States’ ability to address global hunger by allowing the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to use funds from the Food for Peace (FFP) food aid program to provide donations of U.S. commodities, alongside cash transfers and other forms of assistance, in an effort to better assist food insecure communities.
“For decades, America’s farmers have been leaders in feeding the hungry caught in global conflict, and we’ve done it through Food for Peace—but compounding crises are putting extreme stress on the program, from humanitarian catastrophes like the war in Gaza to brutal climate change-related floods in South Sudan. Our food aid is getting stuck, and it’s going to waste. Our ability to effectively alleviate food insecurity caused by conflict and climate change requires more flexibility—so those who need help get it, and in a way that works for them now,” said Senator Welch.
Food insecurity facing 18 hunger hotspots around the globe is set to increase in magnitude and severity, according to a recent United Nations report. Experts warn that concurrent factors, such as conflict, extreme climate events, and volatile economic shocks, will increase the severity of acute food insecurity in hunger hotspots around the globe.
Farmers in the United States have a proud history of providing commodities, such as grains, beans, and lentils to food insecure communities abroad through Food for Peace Program funds. Shipping commodities abroad is often time-consuming and not always the most practical form of assistance. It can take months and shipments can be blocked from reaching those in need.
Early warning hunger hotspots identified by the United Nations include: Palestine, Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti, Lebanon, Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of the Congo (east provinces), Central African Republic, Chad, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Mali, and Myanmar.
“The United States has traditionally provided food assistance beyond their borders, but sometimes it has had unintended consequences – benefiting a handful of growers and trade intermediaries or destroying local production in the countries where US commodities are sent. Sen. Welch’s ‘Streamlining International Food Assistance Act’ offers an opportunity to save taxpayers money and provide fresher, culturally appropriate foods by supporting growers local to each region,” said the National Family Farm Coalition.
Learn more about the Streamlining International Food Assistance Act of 2024.
Read the full text of the bill.
###