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Tracing the food aid supply chain
P. B. GREEN (1). (1) North American Millers' Association, Washington, DC, U.S.A.

The following Supply Chain will be explained in detail: U.S. origin food products are donated to food insecure individuals and families in developing countries through 3 U.S. Government programs: Food for Peace- Title II PL 480; Food For Progress; The McGovern-Dole Food for Education and Child Development Program. In each of these programs US food is procured by the Farm Services Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, either on behalf of USAID or another part of USDA. Contracts to supply the food products are determined in monthly tenders where the least cost food manufacturer or trader's offers are matched with the lowest ocean freight offers to determine the least landed cost. Either manufactured or bulk commodities are prepared for shipment by the vendor, inspected and shipped to port where the predetermined ocean carrier takes care and custody. After shipment either directly to the destination country or to a prepositioning facility overseas, the cargo is delivered to an international Development NGO or World Food Program. In-country storage transport, handling and distribution to the beneficiaries is managed by these groups, who are also accountable for the food and its delivery to its intended use. The presentation will discuss accountability, efficiency, quality control and effectiveness measurement within each link of the supply chain. We will also briefly discuss some new trends and factors that challenge continuation of the U.S. food aid model in future years. Monetization, local and regional purchase, higher commodity prices, focus on higher nutrition, and more sophisticated product formulations are examples of these challenges.

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