U.S. overseas food aid program comes under scrutiny

KASUNGU, Malawi-At about 10:30 each morning, some 800 children break from their studies at school here and line up for a mid-morning meal of porridge. The school’s principal says attendance has climbed 50 percent since the meal program began three years ago. It’s the only reliable meal of the day for most of the kids. […]

KASUNGU, Malawi-At about 10:30 each morning, some 800 children break from their studies at school here and line up for a mid-morning meal of porridge. The school’s principal says attendance has climbed 50 percent since the meal program began three years ago. It’s the only reliable meal of the day for most of the kids. While the soy or maize for the Kasungu feeding program comes from many countries, the largest contributor is the United States, through the Food for Peace program, which began in the 1950s as a means to use U.S. grain surpluses to help countries hit by food crises. But today, the program has grown into a $1.2 billion venture and critics argue American food aid may actually stifle African farmers and perpetuate dependence in recipient countries. And they say Food for Peace benefits private contractors more than the hungry.

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