U.S. Wheat Associates announced Aug. 15 a donation of 28,000 metric tons of U.S. soft white wheat was loaded onto the U.S.-flag vessel Liberty Glory bound for the Arabian Peninsula, one of the latest Food for Peace donations. The wheat will alleviate one of the worst hunger emergencies on the planet, according to USW.

U.S. wheat farmers, USW, the National Association of Wheat Growers and the North American Millers’ Association have been partners in U.S. international food assistance programs for 70 years. Since 2020, Americans have donated more than 1 million metric tons of wheat and millions of dollars in food aid every year, according to USW. This donation of soft white wheat, which was grown in the Pacific Northwest, is on its way to help one of the worst hunger crises in a generation, according to USW.

“Yet, humanitarian programs like USAID’s [U.S. Agency for International Development] Food for Peace program are under intense pressure from some policymakers seeking to cut program funding and divert resources away from emergency hunger needs,” according to the USW press release. “In July, USW, NAWG and NAMA sent a letter with 128 other organizations urging lawmakers to support international food aid programs.”

“The U.S. food and agricultural community are unique stakeholders in the international food aid conversation,” Kansas wheat farmer Ron Suppes said in congressional testimony after visiting Kenya and Tanzania on a trip to monitor U.S. wheat food aid programs in 2017. “I want to see us continue our trend of excellence in providing food aid to the countries that need it most.”

Wheat growers and the milling industry applauded the introduction of the American Farmers Feed the World Act in June 2023. This legislation would “put the food back into food aid” by restoring Food for Peace to its roots as a purely in-kind commodity donation program and requiring that at least half of all Food for Peace funds be used to purchase American commodities and ship them overseas, minimizing administrative costs and restoring accountability and transparency.

Source: U.S. Wheat Associates