Ideas on the table Like health, food is another area that a slimmed-down USAID may prioritize <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POou1toNPe0LPOn85yA46mIsosuw83WTWZy-xQJSrKpjN4QARowJkSuFv_yxMbvLGrr6bxvlLErn7eVT4hup6Mxzp4jIrtrH9onsIVyz1oanmn2198loRigEQENZFy6Jk3-o-drrcZRjGB4gAN05Vol0XEPKOuLh5PXfqUNuTTeTdWz9jzadfuItRE4ekU-2mIUkYCyMFviKmd4i5WGaNzxYhg4TLpvdoBAb9sSEXswUutdoQzA5Zd9cxTFGLa4C6_A==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZa_MevBu1mmicFx6YgzSaa5i8TBSmH5e9vfFUwbZWq16kSObdQqgLMtDyACEOwlj0Tc9MVZs=>. But food assistance has run into many of the same barriers that have hampered the delivery of lifesaving medicines — which is having a deadly effect on malnourished children. “We know children are dying,” Jeanette Bailey of the International Rescue Committee <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZa_MevDKc1kv6pn4PFlGzytpDH5sGpf3zcXDLCrivKHP_DnMPzrnQM8_XkmbbvtMUzcDQjVk=> said at a recent Devex Pro event <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POlUcSL0p9FUJHuMlPBALbrXt5aMe10A78hzrhWTQBs4viSqI2BXoGrJXFPzUuTh6OD8gVaORAy9ld7THSmL4pH3wypWOtjQfZJi6rRsG_D6vuqYKOnLzcsRLZ__ewxnLFohzs4XGT4dBI2v7skO9Kp1f9VDpyQ3TUnQ2bXzEVt6T7tyOuGnkTo7c9dxamKHDZd65Uu5tOlSPiyW_74NNiVRm271DCZAauRrrYcTU5F4rVASOfFgAHowrKCO-LWpeFg==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZa_MevBu1mmicFx6YgzSaa5i8TBSmH5e9vfFUwbZWq16kSObdQqgLMtDyACEOwlj0Tc9MVZs=>. “It's probably in the hundreds every day that these kind of disruptions continue. It's in the thousands every month, and by the end of this year, we can anticipate tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of very young children, toddlers, and babies, who are starving to death, where there should be food available. And where *there is food available; it's just not getting to them* due to all the supply chain disruptions.” There’s obviously no silver lining to children dying, but the crisis could *present the opportunity to rethink a system* that overwhelmingly relies on the U.S. Mark Moore, CEO of U.S.-based Mana Nutrition <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZa_MevKKfPdwgJwqa3j1MG7Nc1UEUmhniXkKdhaBx_r-s86LU9C0PEVIRHuxYmTWqKpdsoXM=>, said one longstanding issue with *U.S. food aid is that it has been “a self-serving venture.”* Much of the world’s supply of ready-to-eat therapeutic food, for example, is made with U.S.-grown ingredients, purchased by the U.S. government, and shipped abroad on U.S. carriers — creating a market for U.S. farmers and companies throughout the entire supply chain. Localizing food production and diversifying supply chains could make the system more immune to political whims. “Now, I could never say that this is good, because every single life that is lost has made this entire thing bad,” Bailey said. “But the opportunity we have right now is to rewrite this system and to really recognize the flaws.” *Read:* Why the US aid freeze could be a moment to reform food aid <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POlUcSL0p9FUJHuMlPBALbrXt5aMe10A78hzrhWTQBs4viSqI2BXoGrJXFPzUuTh6OD8gVaORAy9ld7THSmL4pH3wypWOtjQfZJi6rRsG_D6vuqYKOnLzcsRLZ__ewxnLFohzs4XGT4dBI2v7skO9Kp1f9VDpyQ3TUnQ2bXzEVt6T7tyOuGnkTo7c9dxamKHDZd65Uu5tOlSPiyW_74NNiVRm271DCZAauRrrYcTU5F4rC_5Q_49D2n9JFTe1UTuIlA==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZa_MevBu1mmicFx6YgzSaa5i8TBSmH5e9vfFUwbZWq16kSObdQqgLMtDyACEOwlj0Tc9MVZs=>