US Politics
Food earmarked for millions of people still languishes in warehouses after Trump shuttered USAID
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Read more
Food aid groups that partner with the U.S. Agency for International Development to assist in providing critical nutrition for millions around the world have had to watch cases of food go to waste as the Trump administration dismantled USAID.
In Georgia, Mana Nutrition, a company that creates ready-to-use therapeutic food, is waiting for someone to pick up 400,000 cases of its nutritional supplement to be shipped worldwide. The food could help an estimated 60 million people, but chaos with USAID has disrupted coordination, the company told the Washington Post.
The company is planning to destroy approximately 585 cases of its peanut paste this month because it became too dated to ship while waiting for a new government contract that never happened.
The owner of Mana Nutrition told The Post that some of it could have been added to previous shipments, but wasn’t.
But other companies or organizations that have or had contracts with the government to supply aid have faced similar issues in recent months.
open image in gallery
In July, approximately 500 metric tons of food aid, specifically high-energy biscuits meant for children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, expired while being stored in warehouses in Dubai.
While the administration assured people that the small percentage of food aid wasted would not impact future shipments, some have raised concerns about the pattern that has been highlighted due to the dismantling of USAID.
Last month, the company Edesia Nutrition waited for someone to pick up more than 100,000 boxes of nutritional aid that had sat in a warehouse in Rhode Island. After sounding the alarm, the shipments were finally picked up only after a Rhode Island retailer teamed up with the company.
In May, several people familiar with USAID told Reuters that more than 60,000 metric tons of food, sourced from American farmers and manufacturers, was set to expired in warehouses by July. That concerned enough people that the Office of Inspector General said it would open an investigation into food aid in warehouses.
It’s unclear if that aid was eventually shipped.
open image in gallery
The Trump administration has sought to axe USAID by revoking federal funding and firing most of its staff. President Donald Trump and his allies have characterized USAID as an unnecessary agency filled with “waste, fraud, and abuse.”
USAID, which was established in the 1960s, was one of the world’s leading distributors of food and aid. Partnering with other companies, USAID provided humanitarian assistance, medical necessities, education, and more to people living in poverty, war-torn countries, and disaster-impacted communities.
A spokesperson for the State Department told the Post that it is “constantly assessing global humanitarian needs and expects to allocate additional resources to address those needs in line with U.S. interests.”
More than 730 million people face malnutrition or hunger worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. The U.S. is the single largest donor of international food assistance.
Food aid has been especially highlighted recently as people in Gaza are on the brink of starvation and face dire circumstances.