Obama Budget Dramatically Shifts Food Aid Policy for First Time in Decades
Preident Obama has asked for $47.8 billion for the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development, a six percent decrease from 2012 levels, because of the lower requests for Iraq and Afghanistan.
The budget proposes the most sweeping change in U.S. food aid in decades, with a plan intended to feed more people and deliver food more quickly. It would end a practice of buying food from American farmers and shipping it overseas.
Under the plan, Washington would donate $1.1 billion to a disaster relief account for food vouchers that would be used to buy food from suppliers located near areas of need.
Shipping can double food aid costs because, by law, supplies must be transported on U.S.-flagged vessels.
An additional $250 million would be provided to economic development projects and $75 million would be earmarked for emergency relief.
The food aid proposal could face a tough fight. Aid groups disagree over whether the switch to cash donation is advisable. And two dozen senators wrote the White House in March to try to derail the change.
However, proponents said the plan would let the United States feed millions more people each year, while assisting farmers in poor countries by buying their crops.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!