From Kansas Fields to Food Aid

For Kansas wheat farmers, feeding the world is more than a figure of speech. This week, wheat grown in western Kansas began a journey across the ocean to provide food for people facing hunger thousands of miles away.

On August 10, the U.S.-flagged Liberty Grace arrived in Houston, Texas, where 19,980 metric tons (MT) (nearly 735,000 bushels) of hard red winter (HRW) wheat were loaded onto the vessel as part of the U.S. Food for Peace program. 

The stop in Houston followed a loading event at the Port of New Orleans, where the Liberty Grace took on 28,420 MT of Arkansas and Louisiana rice. From Houston, the vessel will carry the American-grown wheat and rice to the Port of Mombasa in Kenya for distribution in Ethiopia through the World Food Program. The combined shipment is expected to provide food assistance to more than one million people facing severe hunger for an entire year.

For Gary Millershaski, Lakin farmer and chairman of U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), seeing U.S. wheat used for humanitarian assistance continues a tradition that stretches back generations.

“Wheat farmers have championed U.S. food aid assistance for more than 70 years, since a northwest Kansas farmer first proposed that sharing abundant harvests could help feed those in need around the world,” said Millershaski. “Today, we are proud to be here with the USDA and support the agency as they take the helm of the Food for Peace program. This bulk vessel will carry U.S.-grown wheat across the ocean to help feed hungry families. As a farmer, this echoes the lessons I was taught being raised on the farm: ‘If a neighbor is in need, you lend a helping hand. It’s just what we do.’”

The connection between Kansas wheat and international food assistance runs deep. Wheat farmers supported U.S. food aid efforts even before today's programs were established, and wheat has remained one of the primary commodities used in U.S. in-kind food assistance. U.S.-grown wheat often accounts for roughly half of bulk in-kind food aid, with approximately one million metric tons of wheat routinely used each year.

The Liberty Grace shipment also comes as the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) takes a larger role in administering the Food for Peace program. The New Orleans event recognized USDA's leadership of the program and brought together representatives from agriculture, the milling and maritime industries and the World Food Program.

“This shipment, the partner engagement and excitement around this event highlights the value of the long standing Food For Peace program permanently being administered by the USDA,” said Justin Gilpin, CEO of Kansas Wheat. “At a time of increased need for humanitarian assistance around the world, FFP under USDA will help provide reliable continuity and consistency not only for our farmers growing crops but for those most in need.”

This is the second bulk Food for Peace vessel shipped under USDA administration this summer that included significant quantities of U.S. HRW wheat. Earlier, the U.S.-flagged Liberty Glory departed Houston carrying 9,200 MT of HRW wheat and 37,700 MT of U.S. sorghum bound for Ethiopia.

The latest shipment has an especially direct connection to Kansas. The 19,980 MT loaded in Houston were identified as predominantly Kansas grown HRW wheat, tying the state's wheat producers directly to the humanitarian mission. 

From a combine rolling through a Kansas wheat field to a vessel bound for East Africa, the journey demonstrates the reach of the state's wheat crop and the network of farmers, elevators, grain handlers, ports and maritime workers required to move it.

Food for Peace has helped feed more than four billion people in more than 150 countries throughout its history. For Kansas wheat farmers, the program provides another way for the crop they raise each year to fulfill its most fundamental purpose: feeding people.