Tell Congress: Amend the Farm Bill to combat global hunger
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World hunger is increasing at an alarming rate. In 2023, more than 345 million people face high levels of food insecurity, more than double the number in 2020. This trend is driven by man-made conflicts, climate shocks, and the socioeconomic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic — and it is escalating as the war in Ukraine drives up the costs of food, fuel, and fertilizers.
In our global work, we’re witnessing first hand how the hunger crisis impacts families struggling to put food on the table. We must take action now.
The world needs deeper political engagement to combat food insecurity, and Congress has an important role to play. Title III of the U.S. Farm Bill is a key piece of legislation authorizing both emergency and non-emergency food aid programs. Yet administrative and bureaucratic barriers to these programs remain, causing major obstacles to effective food aid delivery.
We call on the U.S. government to amend the Farm Bill in order to improve aid delivery mechanisms and ensure that food assistance is delivered in a timely and effective manner to communities that need it most.
Mercy Corps supports:
- Strengthening the Food for Peace Title II programs for non-emergency settings, representing a more proactive investment into communities in experiencing long- term food insecurity.
- Eliminating the Food for Peace Title II cost categories, which would remove administrative barriers to food delivery, improving program effectiveness.
- A more coordinated approach to food assistance delivery under the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust, making funds more readily usable and replenishable.
- Expanding the McGovern-Dole Food for Education program in order to reach the greatest number of hungry children.
Take action now: Ask the U.S. Congress to amend the Farm Bill in order to combat global hunger and malnutrition.
Here is the letter we’ll send to leaders on your behalf:
Dear Member of Congress,
I am writing to request that you support amending the U.S. Farm Bill to improve food assistance delivery to communities experiencing acute and chronic hunger and malnutrition.
The world is facing a catastrophic hunger crisis. More than 345 million people face high levels of food insecurity in 2023, more than double the number in 2020. Man-made conflicts, socio-economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, and climate-related shocks continue to drive food insecurity around the world.
The conflict in Ukraine has upended global agricultural markets, resulting in skyrocketing prices for food, fuel, and fertilizer. Vulnerable communities have borne the brunt of these crises and, as levels of food insecurity continue to rise, we move further and further away from our goal of ending hunger by 2030. We must take bold action to reverse this trend.
Title III of the U.S. Farm Bill includes important programs designed to deliver food assistance to vulnerable communities. However, these programs are hampered by administrative and bureaucratic barriers, representing a major obstacle to food aid delivery.
We therefore ask that you support making these key programs more effective in order to reach the greatest number of people in need.
The following reforms to Title III of the Farm Bill are absolutely critical to combating global hunger and building resilience in communities across the world:
- Protect the funding level at $365 million for Food for Peace non-emergency programs.
- Remove obstacles for local partners by streamlining Food for Peace award management and eliminating cost categories.
- Make procuring U.S. commodities an option and not a requirement in Food for Peace non-emergency programs to ensure aid supports local economies and does not create dependency.
- Reinforce local and regional procurement mechanisms (LRPs) in the McGovern-Dole Food for Education to support capacity-building for local farmers.
- Make the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust more accountable, transparent, coordinated, and effective by amending the coordination mechanism, creating funding replenishment, and including a cargo preference waiver on all Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust commodities.
- Please do not co-sponsor the Rep. Mann (R-KS) led bill H.R. 4293 that would gut these programs.
U.S. food assistance programs have never been more important. I ask that as my representative you take action to address these concerns, and support key changes to the U.S. Farm Bill. Improving the efficiency of aid delivery is absolutely vital to combating the global hunger crisis.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,