By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
The outsiders brought to Washington to slash foreign aid in the federal
budget in the name of ending fraud, waste and abuse apparently have never heard the phrase “waste not, want not.”
They likewise must not have read or heard the Biblical reference in John 6:12 where Jesus instructed his disciples not to waste the leftover fragments of food after the miracle of feeding the 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fishes.
But even more significantly for the Trump Administration, the new folks in charge at the State Department must not be aware that President Trump is personally pressuring Israel to allow more food supplies into Gaza and for them to stop killing the starving Palestinians fighting over the food trucks.
I raise these questions because the Washington Post reported last Sunday that more than 60,000 metric tons of food – already paid for with American tax dollars – currently is stored in warehouses in the United States and around the world. And some of that food is expiring every day while tens of thousands of men, women and children are dying of starvation in Africa and the Middle East.
The manufacturer, Mana Nutrition, has warehouses packed with peanut paste, a critical element in treating malnutrition. The company has been paid $50 million for the food. They say it could still help 60 million persons, especially children who are most at risk.
Why is this travesty happening? The company’s chief operating officer gave this chilling response: “This is agiant glut. All contracted. All bought and paid for. It’s just not been picked up.”
The political hacks recruited by Elon Musk and other fiscal amateurs in DOGE were in such a rush to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that they didn’t leave enough staff to get the already-purchased food shipped to where it was needed.
This situation makes as much sense as purchasing a week’s groceries and then throwing the loaded bags into a dumpster without eating a bite.
All of us should be troubled by this question: How does letting poor people starve to death help make America great again?
Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com.
