As global food prices spiked last year, the United States sent hundreds of millions to the World Food Programme from an obscure trust designed “to respond to unanticipated food crises abroad.”
Now, with the trust’s coffers depleted, a replenishment could pull money away from flagship U.S. food aid programs that are funded by the same pot of money: the farm bill, which covers U.S. foreign food aid and is up for reauthorization by Congress this year.
But among humanitarian NGOs, opinions differ on how Congress should fund the trust, which is known as the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust, or BEHT. All want to see it replenished, but at varying amounts. Meanwhile, some advocates question its utility as an efficient and cost-effective mechanism to respond to food crises — which are growing in number and intensity around the world — and are calling for changes to make it more flexible and responsive.