18 April 2008
U.S. Department of Agriculture Stocks-for-Food Initiative
Fact sheet outlines food assistance programs for the poor
Following is a fact sheet from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) about the Stocks-for-Food initiative. A related press release is available on the USDA Web site.
(begin fact sheet)
U.S. Department of Agriculture
April 2008
Fact Sheet
The following are excerpts from a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) April 2008 Fact Sheet about a new program to address food needs of the poor.
“High commodity costs, combined with transportation costs have severely limited the amount of food aid that can be provided under the limited food assistance budgets.
“USDA has developed a unique approach to combat this problem through the Stocks-for-Food initiative. … The initiative uses available resources to further address food needs of the hungry both domestically and internationally and has the same effect as a supplemental appropriation.
“Government-owned commodities such as corn (maize), cotton, peanuts, rice, soybeans and wheat are acquired [by USDA] through forfeitures when commodities held as collateral for … market assistance loans are signed over to the [USDA’s] Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) the lender, as payment.
“Through the barter system these commodities are then exchanged with U.S. food processors for value-added agricultural products like canned vegetables, flour, oil as well as meat and other products.”
“The Stocks-for-Food initiative is especially significant because budget shortfalls make it harder to pay higher food and transportation costs, and the potential effect of this double impact is rationing assistance.
“By making excess CCC inventories available to food aid programs, USDA is able to maximize the quantity of aid provided while eliminating government inventories and annual storage costs.”
“In addition, the Stocks-for-Food Program is providing over $20 million to benefit more than 700,000 children in several low-income countries through the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program.”
Since the Stocks-for-Food Program began in July 2007, USDA donations will exceed $100 million, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Shafer said in an April 16 press release.
(end fact sheet)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
