December 13, 2022.  

Whereas the George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program (referred to in this preamble as the “McGovern-Dole Program”) has improved the food security, nutrition, literacy, and primary education of school-age children, particularly young girls, and their families in over 48 countries in just two decades;

Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program was established by section 3107 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 1736o–1) to procure agricultural commodities and provide financial and technical assistance to carry out preschool and school food for education programs in foreign countries and maternal, infant, and child nutrition programs for pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants, and children who are 5 years of age or younger;

Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program has provided over 5.5 billion school meals benefitting over 31 million school-age children and their communities;

Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program has been successfully administered by the Foreign Agricultural Service of the Department of Agriculture;

Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program is a key program of the Department of Agriculture aligned with the governmentwide Global Food Security Strategy;

Whereas in fiscal year 2021 alone, McGovern-Dole Program projects have directly benefitted more than 4.5 million children and community members through the distribution of United States-produced commodities that provide daily nutritious and high-quality meals and mitigate food insecurity;

Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program partners with American farmers, who provide 46,770 metric tons (“MT”) of food commodities in support of fiscal year 2021 McGovern-Dole Program grants in Central America, Africa, and Asia;

Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program complements United States agricultural commodities with food grown and purchased locally to support farmers and markets within their own communities and to build the capacity of local governments and communities to continue and sustain the benefits of the McGovern-Dole Program into the future;

Whereas during the COVID–19 pandemic when school closures were commonplace, the McGovern-Dole Program effectively shifted from providing meals in schools to providing take-home rations and distributed approximately 23,000 MT of commodities donated by the United States and 550 MT of locally procured commodities to more than 1,700,000 McGovern-Dole Program participants and their families across 26 active projects, ensuring that children continued to receive daily meals and learn while at home;

Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program recognizes the value of educating young girls and contributes to overcoming the barriers they encounter in accessing a high-quality education by promoting equality and the reduction of gender-based violence;

Whereas school meals provide an incentive for families to send girls to school and help girls to stay in school, effectively preventing early marriage and delaying first pregnancy, which can trap young women in poverty and limit their future potential;

Whereas the McGovern-Dole Program strengthens local community health and education through the formation of parent-teacher associations, teacher training, and improving the infrastructure of schools, classrooms, commodity storerooms, latrines, and water sources; and

Whereas the United States, as a member of the Global School Meals Coalition, is committed to and recognizes that investments in McGovern-Dole Program, are central to bolstering food security, building resilience to future shocks, and supporting the nutritional, health, and educational needs of children and adolescents worldwide: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved,

Attest:

Clerk.