Food earmarked for millions of people still languishes in warehouses after Trump shuttered USAID

Independent

3 days ago

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.
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.
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.'