USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Michelle Bekkering. Photo credit: North American Millers Association.
Organizations representing U.S. wheat, rice and sorghum growers, along with the milling industry, are celebrating the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture-administered Food for Peace shipment, which includes 19,980 metric tons of Kansas hard red winter wheat and 28,420 metric tons of Louisiana rice destined for communities facing hunger emergencies.
The commodities were loaded aboard the U.S.-flag vessel Liberty Grace at the Port of New Orleans for shipment through the Port of Mombasa, Kenya. According to participating organizations, the donation will provide enough food to feed more than 1 million people facing starvation for a year.
The shipment follows an earlier Food for Peace delivery aboard the Liberty Glory, which departed Houston carrying 37,700 metric tons of U.S.-grown sorghum and 9,200 metric tons of wheat bound for Ethiopia.
The North American Millers' Association said the shipment underscores the role U.S. millers play in producing food aid and emphasized support for making USDA's administration of the Food for Peace program permanent through the next farm bill.
"U.S. millers are proud of the role they play in alleviating world hunger through international food aid. Today's shipment puts into focus exactly why USDA's steadfast leadership in administering this life-saving program is so important," said Kim Cooper, NAMA vice president of government affairs.
Cooper said Congress should permanently authorize USDA's operation of the program so American farmers, millers and mariners can continue supplying grain and grain products for emergency food assistance.
Industry organizations representing wheat, rice and sorghum producers also praised USDA's oversight of the program while encouraging lawmakers to permanently transfer administration of Food for Peace Title II to the department.
Gary Millershaski, chairman of U.S. Wheat Associates and a Kansas wheat farmer, said wheat growers have supported U.S. food aid programs for more than 70 years and described the shipment as an extension of farmers' commitment to helping people in need.
USA Rice Chair John Owen, a Louisiana rice farmer, said the rice shipment will help address global hunger while providing support for U.S. rice markets during a difficult economic period.
National Sorghum Producers Chair Amy France highlighted the program's value for farmers and rural communities, noting that a 108-car train carrying approximately 400,000 bushels of U.S. sorghum departed western Kansas earlier this summer for Food for Peace programs in Africa. She said it marked the first sorghum shipment since USDA assumed administration of the program.
USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Michelle Bekkering said the shipment demonstrates the strength of partnerships among American farmers, commodity organizations, the merchant marine workforce and the World Food Programme.
In December 2025, USDA assumed responsibility for administering the farm bill-authorized Food for Peace program through an interagency agreement following uncertainty over the program's future and a decline in food aid shipments. More than 80 organizations have since backed legislation to permanently place Food for Peace Title II under USDA. The House-passed Farm Bill 2.0 includes language that would codify the change.
Supporters of the program said Food for Peace not only addresses global food insecurity but also provides markets for American agricultural products, supports farmers facing economic challenges and helps utilize excess milling capacity.
Since its creation in 1954, Food for Peace has delivered U.S. agricultural commodities to more than 4 billion people in over 150 countries while supporting export markets for American agriculture.
Source: North American Millers Association, "Food for Peace Donation Shows Impact of International Food Aid at Home and Abroad"