May 16, 2024 – Today, chef advocates and members of CARE’s Chef’s Table delivered the following letter to Chairman Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member David Scott, and Ranking Member John Boozman to prevent dangerous provisions of the American Farmers Feed the World Act (H.R.4293 and S.2862) from being included in this year’s Farm Bill reauthorization. As global hunger continues to rise, U.S. Congress must protect and strengthen programs within the Farm Bill, and oppose American Farmers Feed the World Act.
The full letter as delivered:
Dear Chairman Thompson, Chairwoman Stabenow, Ranking Member Scott, and Ranking Member Boozman:
As professional chefs and advocates fighting to end global hunger, we work daily to support local food systems, build reliable supply chains, and help our communities have safe, nourished lives. We urge you to ensure communities around the world have the same opportunities through this year’s Farm Bill reauthorization. To do so, we must protect and strengthen Food for Peace Title II and McGovern-Dole Food for Education, two of the United States’ most critical international food assistance programs. Alarmingly, proposals like the American Farmers Feed the World Act (H.R.4293 and S.2862) threaten to cripple Food for Peace. We urge you not to include any provisions of the American Farmers Feed the World Act in the Farm Bill.
For over 70 years, Food for Peace has built resilience and supported communities in crisis. The American Farmers Feed the World Act carves Food for Peace into pieces. It mandates arbitrarily high spending for US food and ocean freight, leaving insufficient funding to transport the food to communities once it reaches a port, let alone properly and safely distribute this food aid to people in need. Even worse, it leaves no funding for Food for Peace resilience programs that help communities feed themselves. Every $1 invested in resilience programs saves $3 in future humanitarian response, not to mention the incalculable human benefit of investing in communities of recurrent crisis to help them reach stability.
CARE’s Titukulane program in Malalwi is one example of a Food for Peace resilience program that has trained more than 28,000 farmers. These smallholder farmers are building the skills they need to increase production, improve resilience, adapt to climate change, diversify diets, and boost nutrition. In just one year, bean and nut farmers supported by Titukulane grew more than twice as many crops as the national average. They were also able to collectively sell their surplus food for higher prices to generate additional income for their families. Women in the Titukulane training, who often are not provided the same education or ownership rights as men, build confidence in their production, asset management, and decision-marking abilities. It’s not just about growing their own food – it’s about changing lives.
Chefs, farmers, and people around the world all want to be able to provide for themselves. We cannot allow the American Farmers Feed the World Act to take that away. Thank you for your leadership and we look forward to your continued efforts to strengthen international food assistance programs.
Sincerely,
Asha Gomez
CARE Chefs’ Table Co-Lead
Chef and cookbook author and founder, House of Goretti and Tulip and Tea
Atlanta, GA
Spike Mendelsohn
CARE Chefs’ Table Co-Lead
Chef and restaurateur, Good Stuff Eatery, We, the Pizza, Béarnaise, Santa Rosa Taqueria
Washington, D.C.
Matthew Cooper
Chef and owner, Conifer Restaurant
Bentonville, AR
Michael Corvino
Chef and founder, Corvino Supper Club & Tasting Room
Kansas City, MO
Nicholas Elmi
Chef and owner, Laurel, In the Valley, Lark, and The Landing Kitchen
Philadelphia, PA
Ingrid Hoffmann
Chef, TV personality, and author
Miami, FL
Benjamin Kaplan
Restaurant Development and Technology Consultant
Boston, MA
Michelle Kwak
Pastry chef
Boise, ID
Matthew McClure
Executive chef and Director of Food and Beverage, The Woodstock Inn & Resort
Woodstock, VT
Whitney Otawka
Chef and cookbook author
Cumberland, GA
Laurie A. Watkins
Founder and CEO, The Cook’s Collective
Alexandria, VA
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