Food Prices and Global Demand

May 1, 2008

President Bush asked Congress to approve $770 million in new global food aid for the coming fiscal year, the centerpiece of an evolving administration response to a crisis that has sparked increased violence and hunger around the world.

Rising prices have complicated our worldwide food assistance efforts and made it more difficult for the United States to meet its existing commitments, much less help the growing number of people who need aid. To address this problem, two weeks ago the Administration announced that about $200 million in emergency food aid would be made available through a program at the Agriculture Department called the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust.

This aid, along with the additional funds requested from Congress, amounts to nearly $1 billion in new funds to bolster global food security. With other food security assistance programs already in place, the U.S. is now projected to spend nearly $5 billion in 2008 and 2009 to fight global hunger.

Read the Press Release
Listen to the Press Conference
White House Fact Sheet

Farm Bureau has also made a commitment to fight hunger by partnering with America’s Second Harvest. For more information, call your county Farm Bureau.