USAID Freeze Could Result in $500M of Spoiled Food

That's about how much is currently in transit or storage, waiting to be distributed
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 12, 2025 3:00 AM CST
Possible Consequence of Aid Freeze: $500M in Spoiled Food
A man walks past boxes of USAID humanitarian aid at a warehouse at the Tienditas International Bridge on the outskirts of Cucuta, Colombia, Feb. 21, 2019, on the border with Venezuela.   (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)

Among the disturbing tidbits in the USAID report from the inspector general who was promptly fired after issuing it: There's nearly $500 million worth of food sitting in ships, at ports, and in warehouses amid the USAID funding freeze instituted by the Trump administration, and it's at risk of spoiling. "When the food doesn't get to where it needs to go, it winds up in a landfill, and that has devastating effects," an outside expert tells CBS News. The State Department has not commented. More on the report, and the inspector general's ensuing termination, here. (More USAID stories.)

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