US food aid cuts cause global hunger crisis

The second Trump administration, beginning January 2025, drastically cut U.S. foreign food assistance, leading to a severe global hunger crisis. On his first day, President Donald Trump signed an executive order freezing all U.S. foreign assistance. Elon Musk's DOGE operation terminated the United States — United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which had provided the bulk of U.S. humanitarian aid. In April 2025, the administration ended funding to the World Food Programme (WFP) for food programs in 14 impoverished nations. Although some cuts were restored and an $800 million grant was given in June 2025, total U.S. overseas food aid for 2025 fell to about $2 billion, compared to $4.5 billion in the final Biden year. The WFP experienced a 40% drop in funding. The consequences were devastating: in Kenya, 720,000 refugees lost U.S. funding and many starved, with children dying; in Nigeria, 150 WFP clinics shut down, affecting 300,000 children. Acute food insecurity rose, affecting an estimated 118 million children. The administration's FY 2026 and FY 2027 budget proposals sought to eliminate the United States — Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole programs, though Congress blocked the FY 2026 elimination with a 23% cut. In April 2026, the FY 2027 proposal called for total elimination, and for the first time since 1961, no U.S. funding was earmarked for the WFP. In August 2026, the administration announced a new $2 billion over five years initiative for overseas humanitarian aid directed by Christian organizations, with nearly three-quarters allocated to healthcare. According to the WFP, 266 million people face crisis levels of hunger in 2026.