Why It Matters
A Congressional Research Service report examining how the Trump administration's decision to shut down USAID is affecting U.S. international food assistance programs has raised questions about institutional capacity and program continuity. The CRS report updated June 25 examines how recent structural changes to the federal government are affecting food assistance programs at a moment when an estimated 363 million people globally face acute food insecurity.
Congress appropriated nearly $5.5 billion for international food assistance in fiscal 2024, yet the closure of USAID as of July 1, 2025, has shifted administration of its programs to the State Department and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), creating uncertainty about whether those agencies have the staffing and expertise to manage the work effectively.
The Big Picture
USAID had administered the flagship Food for Peace Title II program for decades, historically allocating the majority of its funding for emergency food assistance. The program is also required to maintain a minimum of $365 million annually for nonemergency food assistance, drawing partly from the Community Development Fund, which received $80 million in fiscal 2024 programming.
The State Department now leads most U.S. foreign assistance programs, having assumed certain former USAID functions. USDA, meanwhile, administers Food for Progress, which procured 460,000 metric tons of U.S. commodities valued at $148 million in fiscal 2025. That program is required to annually provide a minimum of 400,000 metric tons of commodities and is restricted from paying more than $40 million annually for freight costs.
Feed the Future, a development initiative to provide food security and agricultural resources in selected focus countries, had at least $720 million designated for its programs in fiscal 2026, with an authorized appropriation of $1.2 billion annually through fiscal 2028. The Emergency Food Security Program, previously administered by USAID, was programmed at $2.9 billion for fiscal 2024.
Most farm bill-authorized food assistance programs require the use of U.S.-sourced commodities and are subject to cargo preference laws. Congress has authorized and appropriated funds for international food assistance for over 70 years, and the U.S. has provided such assistance to respond to global humanitarian crises, support international development and serve strategic interests such as promoting political stability and strengthening agricultural markets. The purchase of U.S.-sourced commodities and absorption of food surpluses through in-kind food assistance programs have directly benefited U.S. agriculture.
The Bottom Line
The closure of USAID has shifted responsibility for international food assistance across the State Department and USDA while Congress continues to fund programs operating under statutes that in some cases still reference USAID. Questions remain about what interagency agreements govern the programs, whether those arrangements align with existing statutory authorities and whether USDA and State have sufficient staffing and expertise to administer food assistance programs effectively.
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