The FY08/09 Emergency Supplemental Spending Bill, signed into law by President Bush on Monday, June 30, will enable the United States to spend an additional $1.245 billion on international food aid donations in this year and next, as donor countries work to relieve the devastating effects of soaring food and fuel prices on the world’s poor. Included in the funding is $50 million to be used to purchase food on the ground at the local or regional level of the recipient countries. This first time shift by the U.S. government of freeing some money to buy food within countries ─ thus aiding local economies and alleviating the heavy costs of transporting food from the U.S to Africa and other places ─ is an important step in more effectively fighting the food crisis.
