Food Aid and Nutrition-Specific Interventions

International food aid takes several forms: in-kind food aid, in which commodities are shipped directly from donor countries; cash-based transfers, such as vouchers or direct cash enabling recipients to purchase food locally; and local or regional procurement, in which aid agencies buy food closer to the crisis. US food aid has historically been dominated by the Food for Peace program, established under Public Law 480 in 1954, which long required that most aid commodities be grown in the United States and shipped on US-flagged vessels under so-called cargo preference rules. Economists have criticized this model as inefficient, with a substantial share of the budget consumed by transport and administration rather than reaching recipients, and as potentially depressing local food prices and undermining local farmers when poorly timed or targeted. Reform efforts since the 2000s have pushed toward cash transfers, vouchers, and local or regional purchase, which evidence generally shows to be faster, cheaper, and less disruptive to local markets, though shipping-industry lobbying has kept cargo preference requirements largely in place in US legislation, including the 2018 Farm Bill.