“As USAID’s Food for Peace Officer assigned to South Sudan since October 2011, I have seen firsthand how U.S. government food assistance programs are simultaneously supporting communities’ efforts to create assets that strengthen their food security while providing vital timely assistance to food insecure South Sudanese,” C.W.T. Hagelman writes in USAID’s “IMPACTblog.” He continues, “Pockets of continuing civil conflict and erratic weather patterns plus a massive influx of refugees from Sudan and the return of thousands of people of South Sudanese origin after years of living in Sudan have strained food security in this new nation struggling to find its footing.” Hagelman describes the “innovative approach called ‘Food-for-Assets,'” which he says “citizens have embraced” (8/28).