Washington, D.C., May 2, 2025 – Bread for the World issued the following statement on the release of the Trump administration’s “skinny” budget for fiscal year 2026. The statement can be attributed to Rev. Eugene Cho, president and CEO of Bread for the World.
“Bread for the World is gravely concerned by the funding cuts to humanitarian assistance outlined in the ‘skinny’ budget released by the Trump administration, including the elimination of Food for Peace, the United States’ premier global anti-hunger program, and the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. The budget also makes significant cuts to international financial institutions, including the elimination of the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
“If enacted, these proposed cuts would result in tens, if not hundreds of thousands, of deaths in the next year. Many millions more will suffer from lifelong effects due to malnutrition. And as is always the case, children will bear the brunt of the proposed cuts.
“Acute hunger is on the rise, affecting 343 million people in 74 countries. In Sudan, famine has been confirmed in 10 regions, with 17 additional regions at risk. Hundreds of thousands of people teeter on the brink of famine in Gaza, South Sudan, Haiti, and Mali. The dismantling of U.S. humanitarian aid programs has made all of these situations immeasurably worse.
“Investments in international aid are well under 1 percent of the U.S. federal budget, but their positive impacts are enormous in terms of saving lives and improving U.S. national security and prosperity. They support U.S. strategic interests by building and maintaining relationships with partner countries, helping to mitigate conflicts, and promoting regional stability favorable for U.S. markets. Furthermore, such investments promote strong health systems that help the U.S. to detect and prevent infectious diseases from entering our borders.
“Bread strongly urges Congress to appropriate robust funding for international humanitarian and nutrition assistance– including the Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole programs – in the FY 2026 budget. ’We must not withhold good from those whom it is due, when it is in our power to act,’ (Proverbs 3:27).”
Food for Peace supports U.S. farmers and people experiencing hunger around the world. Since its enactment in 1954, Food for Peace has fed 58 million people globally from the surplus U.S. agriculture commodities.
The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program uses U.S. agriculture commodities and other assistance to provide nutrition school meals to children. Since it began operations in 2003, McGovern-Dole has provided school meals to more than 40 million children in 40 of the world’s most food-insecure countries.
Bread for the World is a Christian advocacy organization urging U.S. decision makers to do all they can to pursue a world without hunger
