McGovern-Dole International Food for Education

Description

The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education Program provides U.S. agricultural commodities and financial and technical assistance to food-insecure countries to establish school feeding programs for preschool and primary school children in need. The program also works to increase access to safe water and improve sanitation and works with local farmers to bolster sustainable production of nutritious foods.

Use of Funds

McGovern-Dole funds the transportation of donated U.S. agricultural products, financial and technical assistance, educational instruction, teacher training, school infrastructure construction, and water and sanitation improvements.

Justification

• McGovern-Dole funds improve nutrition and maternal health in the critical first 1,000 days before a child’s second birthday and boost literacy rates by incentivizing families to keep their children in school.
• McGovern-Dole programs bring girls into classrooms, by incentivizing families to send their girls to school, including by supplying take-home rations to people whose girls have good attendance.
• In F.Y. 2022 McGovern-Dole projects:
  • Allocated $220 million for various food assistance programs.
  • Were active in Burundi, Cambodia, the Gambia, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritania, Tanzania, and Timor-Lest
• On June 7, 2022, Congress commemorated the 20th anniversary of the McGovern-Dole School Meals Program which has provided over 5 billion school meals since its beginning.