US Lifts Food Donation Pause on Resuming Aid Shipments

500,000 metric tons of blocked contributions can now be shipped again after the US overturned a ban on food aid.

The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) said that the United States has withdrawn a ban on food donations, paving the door for the crucial food aid that had been in limbo to resume.

In a post on X, WFP verified that the delay, which had interfered with the delivery of 500,000 metric tons of food that were either at sea or awaiting shipping, had been lifted.

In an X post on Sunday, WFP stated, “We can confirm that the recent pause concerning in-kind food assistance to WFP – purchased from U.S. farmers with Title II funds – has been rescinded.” “This permits food deliveries and purchases to resume in accordance with current USAID agreements.”

The stop was put in place as part of US President Donald Trump’s 90-day foreign assistance block, which was intended to reevaluate whether donations complied with his “America First” stance.

Washington had also directed WFP to cease operations on many US-funded programs, even though a waiver permitted emergency food aid.

The Food for Peace Title II program, which allots around $2 billion a year for food aid donations, was the source of many stopped awards. The US Department of Agriculture and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) work together to manage the program, which gives poor countries vital assistance.

Food supplies to crisis-affected nations such as Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Haiti, and Mali were impacted by the assistance suspension.

In a report issued Monday, USAID’s Office of Inspector General cautioned that the halt had exposed over $489 million in food aid to the dangers of spoiling, storage issues, and possible diversion.

According to the study, “these commodities were held in limbo, subject to spoilage, unanticipated storage needs, and potential diversion because this funding source was not included under the Secretary’s emergency food assistance waiver.”

Humanitarian groups were left in a state of bewilderment following the abrupt halt to US food aid, unsure of whether to continue sending food at their own financial peril.

Food deliveries will resume as a result of the latest reversal, but the interruption has raised questions about the unpredictable nature of US foreign assistance policies and how they affect international humanitarian operations.

The decision to end the halt has not yet been addressed by the US State Department.