On 17 June 1963 NewsweekThe cover story of highlighted world hunger and America’s primary tool for fighting hunger: Food for Peace. This noble government humanitarian program sent America’s surplus food abroad to starving countries. Food for Peace became a major part of American foreign policy, offering life and hope to those in need in comparison to nuclear weapons.
“The forests of grain elevators in the United States are components of the American arsenal that are as important as any skyward-pointing intercontinental ballistic missile complex – and fortunately even more active,” said the Newsweek Function specified.
Today, Food for Peace needs renewed attention, especially in light of the famines threatening Gaza and Sudan. With millions of people at risk of starvation, the world needs Food for Peace now more than ever.
Food for Peace began on July 10, 1954, when then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Act 480. As Eisenhower said, Act 480 would allow the United States to “use food surpluses to combat famine and other emergencies, thus enabling us to maintain our American tradition of generous assistance in times of need.”
Act 480 was later called Food for Peace. For millions of starving people around the world, Food for Peace has been a lifesaver. It is more than just a program. Food for Peace is a movement that grew out of our experiences in World War I and World War II, when many countries experienced severe food shortages.
America could not achieve peace during these wars without fighting the enemy of hunger. American food aid was crucial in saving millions of people from starvation during and after the world wars.
Food for Peace became an annual hunger prevention program. One of Food for Peace’s early goals was to help nations recover from World War II, but it also addressed hunger around the world, such as fighting famine in India and Africa.
Food for Peace could nourish nations while promoting stability. As former President John F. Kennedy said in 1960, “Food is strength, food is peace, food is freedom, and food is a helping hand to those all over the world whose goodwill and friendship we desire.”
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One of the most important Food for Peace initiatives during the Kennedy administration was expanding school meals overseas. Former Food for Peace director George McGovern led a massive plan to provide school meals to hungry children. School meals transform the lives of children in impoverished countries. These meals save lives and entire nations. In South Korea, Food for Peace school meals helped a generation of children recover from a devastating war.
Today, it is critical that U.S.-sponsored school meals abroad continue to fight hunger through Food for Peace and its partner initiative, the McGovern-Dole Food for Education program.
Photo courtesy of WFP/Gali Nkinzo/2023
Food for Peace led to the creation of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), an international humanitarian initiative, in 1961. Food for Peace donations continue to play an important role in WFP’s response to global hunger crises today.
Congress must ensure that Food for Peace is adequately funded, especially as hunger increases in war zones such as Gaza, Yemen, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Severe drought in southern Africa is contributing to hunger. Hunger continues to rise in Sudan, and famine has been declared in parts of the country.
Food for Peace is necessary to respond to the global hunger crisis. In the long term, it cannot be just about sending US food to countries in need. Food for Peace must help farmers in developing countries build their resilience to disasters such as drought. Food for Peace must remain flexible so that the organization can source food locally in impoverished countries.
The best way to do Food for Peace is for Congress to coordinate its legislative decisions with aid agencies that understand the needs of poor countries so that the right programs can be put in place to alleviate hunger.
Food for Peace has saved many lives and nations from starvation over the past 70 years. Today it is being used again to save lives in war and drought zones. Each of us can support Food for Peace by contacting Congress and asking them to support the program.
America must support Food for Peace in the fight against world hunger.
William Lambers is an author who collaborated with the UN World Food Programme (WFP) on the book Put an end to world hungerHis writings have been published by The Washington Post, History News NetworkCleveland’s The simple trader and many other news agencies. Lambers recently volunteered to write the “Hunger Heroes” section of the WFP’s online educational game Freerice.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author.
