Washington: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has terminated 17 international school meal projects under the McGovern-Dole Food for Education program, according to a departmental email sent to congressional staff. These cuts come on top of 27 project cancellations last week from USDA’s Food for Progress program, which channels American agricultural commodities overseas to support economic development efforts.
The cancellations reflect a broader rollback of U.S. foreign aid initiatives as part of the Trump administration’s drive to scale back government spending. Critics warn that the decision could worsen food insecurity and hunger in vulnerable regions.
In total, 44 aid projects have now been scrapped across several nations, including Honduras, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, and Nepal. The USDA’s communication to Congress explained that the projects were “not in alignment with the foreign assistance objectives of the Trump Administration.”
A USDA spokesperson clarified that the agency acted in accordance with a January 20 executive order intended to align foreign aid efforts more closely with U.S. strategic interests. According to a source familiar with the matter, the USDA faced pressure from the White House and the Department of Government Efficiency to cut overseas aid spending. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Among the impacted projects are 12 run by Catholic Relief Services (CRS), a prominent nonprofit organization. Haydee Diaz, CRS’s country representative in Honduras, highlighted the scope and importance of their program, which serves 97,000 children in over 1,700 rural schools. These areas grapple with high rates of malnutrition and stunting—growth failure in children due to inadequate nutrition.
The program relies on donations of U.S.-grown corn, rice, beans, and fortified soy blends, which are used to prepare school meals by more than 10,000 local volunteers.
“The aid can help reduce migration to the U.S. because it provides parents the assurance their children will at least have one healthy meal per day in their home community,” said Diaz.
“What we’ll see is more desperation, and more migration,” she added.
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According to the USDA’s email, while U.S. farmers have already been compensated for the donated goods, aid grantees are now responsible for delivering the commodities to their final destinations or disposing of them. Another source familiar with the directive said grantees were told to clear their inventory within 30 days—either by distributing the food immediately or destroying it.
Diaz confirmed efforts are underway to distribute as much food as possible before the deadline.
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Despite the recent terminations, the USDA continues to support 14 Food for Progress projects in 17 countries and 30 McGovern-Dole projects in 22 countries. A new funding notice for the upcoming McGovern-Dole cycle has been published, and one for Food for Progress is currently being finalized.
In 2023, the McGovern-Dole program provided meals to 2.5 million food-insecure children and distributed over 37,000 metric tonnes of American commodities globally, according to its report to Congress. Program funding that year amounted to $248 million.
