Food For Peace Program Still Necessary

In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower signed Public Law 480, now known as Food for Peace, a program that since has “saved millions of lives,” author William Lambers writes in a post The Hill’s “Congress Blog.” The program “was started because there was so much food in the United States, it made sense to avoid costly storage and move it overseas where there were hungry people,” he writes, noting, “Food for Peace was a way to continue the amazing humanitarianism of the United States so demonstrated following World War I and II when we fought famine in dozens of countries” and “was a continuation of the Marshall Plan which rebuilt Europe after World War II.” He continues, “Congress has a responsibility to maintain solid funding for Food for Peace because as George Marshall once said, ‘Hunger and insecurity are the worst enemies of peace,'” adding, “When reforms are needed to the program, Congress needs to add these to improve the efficiency.” He states, “Supporting small farmers in developing countries is key to the future,” and concludes, “Food for Peace has changed the lives of millions of people and is the best of what America has to offer. Let’s … plan for the future. Food for Peace is still needed today as much as ever” (7/10).

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