WASHINGTON (January 20, 2026) The following statement can be attributed to Eric Mitchell, president of the Alliance to End Hunger:
“The future of the U.S. Government’s Food for Peace program has been in question ever since the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was dismantled in the early months of 2025. Since its establishment in 1954, the Food for Peace program has delivered life-saving agricultural commodities globally to those facing emergencies, including war, storms, drought, and other conditions largely outside of their control, while also building resilience among those populations against future shocks.
The Alliance to End Hunger applauds the announcement of an interagency agreement (IAA) between the State Department, which had assumed authority over Food for Peace programs following USAID’s dismantling, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The IAA enables the U.S. Department of Agriculture to resume operation of Food for Peace programming, while the future of its legislative authorization is sorted by Congress. USDA management of the program has the potential to increase program efficiencies and ensure a strong link between the U.S Government and the farmers growing the food that is used in the program. It is also likely to improve market linkages between producers and the organizations implementing programs.
As the program is transferred, the Alliance to End Hunger emphasizes the need to continue to implement Food for Peace nonemergency programs, also called Resilience Food Security Activities (RFSAs), that help communities build their own resilience to future emergencies. These programs also utilize U.S.-grown agricultural commodities, especially in the early phases, and help create the conditions within countries that enables them to graduate them from the need for USG assistance.
We welcome continued work with Congress and the Administration to ensure the long-term success of Food for Peace emergency and nonemergency assistance, and the United States’ continued leadership in the fight to end hunger and malnutrition globally.
