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The Indicator from Planet Money

How USAID cuts hurt American farmers

February 19, 2025 • The ties between U.S. foreign aid and American agriculture run deep — or at least used to. The U.S. International Agency for Development, or USAID, is the largest provider of humanitarian food aid in the world. Much of that aid comes from U.S. farmers, whose corn, wheat and rice is sold in bulk to the government for USAID's programs. What happens now if those programs end?

How USAID cuts hurt American farmers

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Boiling weeds, eating animal feed: People in Gaza stave off hunger any way they can

A Palestinian boy waits with his pot among a crowd in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza, while trying to get a small amount of soup from one of the few soup kitchens, on Feb. 26. Omar El Qattaa for NPR hide caption

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Middle East crisis — explained

Boiling weeds, eating animal feed: People in Gaza stave off hunger any way they can

March 29, 2024 • Palestinians in Gaza tell NPR they've resorted to boiling weeds in seawater, eating animal feed and grinding date pits. "If the bombs don't kill us, the hunger will," a teenage girl says.

People in Gaza are starving to death. 5 things to know about efforts to feed them

A man carries a cardboard box of food aid provided by nonprofit organization World Central Kitchen in Rafah, in southern Gaza, on March 17, amid the conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas. Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images

Middle East crisis — explained

People in Gaza are starving to death. 5 things to know about efforts to feed them

March 20, 2024 • Family clans in Gaza are being called on to help distribute aid to a starving population. Here's why it matters and how it could shape postwar security.

People in Gaza are starving to death. 5 things to know about efforts to feed them

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Why there's a storm brewing about global food aid from the U.S.

A woman carries a bag containing rice donated by the United States Agency for International Development, as she walks through a market in Haiti. There's a debate on Capitol Hill as the Farm Bill comes up for renewal: Is it better to send food grown by U.S. farms to countries in need or to turn to local growers. Lynne Sladky/AP hide caption

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Lynne Sladky/AP

Goats and Soda

Why there's a storm brewing about global food aid from the U.S.

January 9, 2024 • The act of providing food aid to countries in need turns out to be a complicated and controversial matter. Here's why.

How $6 billion from Elon Musk could feed millions on the brink of famine

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Goats and Soda

How $6 billion from Elon Musk could feed millions on the brink of famine

November 11, 2021 • Elon Musk reportedly made $36 billion in a single day. What if he gave a sixth of that to the World Food Programme? We ask researchers how much of a change $6 billion could bring.

Food Aid To Puerto Rico Is Salty, Sugary, And Unbalanced, Researcher Says

Puerto Rican residents received food and water from FEMA after Hurricane Maria, but many complained that some boxes were stuffed with candy and salty snacks, not meals. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

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The Salt

Food Aid To Puerto Rico Is Salty, Sugary, And Unbalanced, Researcher Says

June 22, 2018 • A professor of public health found boxes filled with sugary or high-sodium snacks was sent to people in need of meals after Hurricane Maria, and says food aid needs to be more nutritious.

What's The Difference Between Famine And Hunger? A Food FAQ

When does food aid work? Hanna Barczyk for NPR hide caption

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Hanna Barczyk for NPR

Goats and Soda

What's The Difference Between Famine And Hunger? A Food FAQ

June 13, 2017 • We asked our readers what they wanted to know about world hunger? So many thoughtful questions came in that we did a roundup of queries about hunger and famine.

U.S. To Ship Peanuts To Feed Haitian Kids; Aid Groups Say 'This Is Wrong'

Sacks full of peanuts are displayed for sale at a market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Aid groups say they are dismayed by a planned influx of American-grown peanuts from a U.S. agricultural surplus that they fear could undercut a vital cash crop in the impoverished Caribbean nation. Dieu Nalio Chery/AP hide caption

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Dieu Nalio Chery/AP

The Salt

U.S. To Ship Peanuts To Feed Haitian Kids; Aid Groups Say 'This Is Wrong'

May 5, 2016 • On paper, the USDA's plan to send surplus peanuts to feed 140,000 malnourished Haitian schoolchildren sounds heroic. But aid groups say it could devastate Haiti's peanut farmers.

Philippines Disaster Rekindles Fight Over Food Aid Rules

A relief worker looks over boxes of aid provided by the U.S. on November 14, 2013 in Leyte, Philippines. Proponents of food aid reform say it makes more sense for the U.S. to buy food donations locally than ship them across the globe. Chris McGrath/Getty Images hide caption

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The Salt

Philippines Disaster Rekindles Fight Over Food Aid Rules

November 15, 2013 • The Philippine disaster is an example why it increasingly makes sense to buy food close to where its needed rather than ship it across the globe. Most U.S. food aid, though, travels to hotspots from U.S. ports. Critics say that wastes time and money.

Philippines Disaster Rekindles Fight Over Food Aid Rules

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A Political War Brews Over 'Food For Peace' Aid Program

Pakistani aid workers offload USAID food supplies from an Army helicopter in Kallam Valley during catastrophic flooding in 2010. Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images

The Salt

A Political War Brews Over 'Food For Peace' Aid Program

April 4, 2013 • Rumors abound of a major shakeup in the works for U.S. food aid programs. The U.S. would give aid groups money to buy food wherever they could get it cheapest and quickest, rather than shipping abroad commodities bought in the U.S. Already, groups that profit from the current system are mounting a fight.

A Political War Brews Over 'Food For Peace' Aid Program

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The Salt

Grow Your Own Locust Kit Could Someday Help Feed African Refugees

August 28, 2012 • Insects, such as locust and grasshoppers, are a cheap source of protein that requires minimum resources to farm. Taking advantage of these properties, two design students have built an emergency food kit that allows families in a Kenyan refugee camp to grow their own source of protein--locust.

When Food Aid Goes Local, Some Say It Works Better

A worker piles sacks of corn at a market in Guatemala City. Daniel LeClair/Reuters /Landov hide caption

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Daniel LeClair/Reuters /Landov

The Salt

When Food Aid Goes Local, Some Say It Works Better

March 7, 2012 • Food security experts have long debated whether it's better to ship bags of rice and corn from the United States to the hungry overseas, or to buy food close to where it's needed. New research suggests most of the time, it's better to buy food close to where it's needed.