The U.S.-flagged ship Liberty Grace has embarked on its journey from New Orleans to Mombasa, Kenya, with enough U.S. wheat and rice to feed more than 1 million people for a year.
It’s the latest donation of U.S. commodities under the World Food Program, now that the Food for Peace program has shifted to the USDA.
“Wheat farmers have championed U.S. food aid assistance for more than 70 years, since a northwest Kansas farmer first proposed that sharing abundant harvests could help feed those in need around the world,” said Gary Millershaski, U.S. Wheat Associates chairman and a Kansas wheat farmer. “Today, we are proud to be here with USDA and support the agency as they take the helm of the Food for Peace program.
“This bulk vessel will carry U.S.-grown wheat across the ocean to help feed hungry families. As a farmer, this echoes the lessons I was taught being raised on the farm: If a neighbor is in need, you lend a helping hand. It’s just what we do.”
According to a media release, the Liberty Grace was loaded with 28,420 metric tons of Louisiana rice and was set to travel to Houston to be loaded with 19,980 MT of U.S. wheat before leaving for Kenya. This is the second bulk vessel loaded with Food for Peace donations that the USDA has shipped this summer, both of which contained substantial volumes of U.S. wheat.
Earlier this year, the U.S.-flagged Liberty Glory from Houston carried a Food for Peace shipment of 9,200 MT of U.S. hard red winter wheat and 37,700 MT of U.S. sorghum bound for Ethiopia.
Amy France, chair of National Sorghum Producers and a farmer from Scott City, Kan., emphasized the importance of the Food for Peace program and the team of farmers, processors, ports and mariners who make shipments like this possible.
“Sorghum farmers are proud to be part of that mission,” she said in a statement. “Earlier this summer, a 108-car train carrying approximately 400,000 bushels of U.S. sorghum departed western Kansas for Food for Peace programs in Africa, marking the first sorghum shipment since USDA assumed administration of the program.
“It is a powerful example of American-grown food helping people around the world while creating dependable value for farmers and rural communities here at home,” France continued. “We appreciate USDA’s leadership, and urge Congress to make its administration of Food for Peace permanent.”
Kansas connection
According to the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, the Food for Peace program has its roots in Kansas. In 1953, Cheyenne County farmer Peter O’Brien proposed the idea of giving away surplus crops to nations facing hunger crises as a way to move excess grain and to support a mission of goodwill during the Cold War.
The idea went from a local Farm Bureau meeting all the way to the halls of the U.S. Senate, where then-Sen. Andy Schoeppel, R-Kan., sponsored legislation. On July 10, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, another Kansan, signed the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act, creating the Office of Food for Peace.
Over the past 70 years, the program has undergone many changes, but the goals have remained the same: combat hunger and malnutrition, promote sustainable agricultural development, expand international trade, foster private enterprises and democracy in developing countries, and prevent conflicts.
The Food for Peace program moved to USDA through a temporary interagency agreement between the U.S. State Department and USDA in January. This was after the U.S. Agency for International Development — which previously housed the program from 1961 forward — was dismantled in 2025.
“The shipment we’re sending to help those in dire need around the world is a testament not only to the abundance of U.S. agriculture, but more importantly, to the generosity of the American farmer and the bounty they produce,” Bekkering said in remarks during the ceremony. “This massive shipment also showcases the strength of our historic partnership with U.S. commodity groups, our friends at our merchant marine workforce and the World Food Program.
“Together, we’re helping those in need today and fostering true self-reliance tomorrow. Through our suite of USDA food assistance programs, we’re not just saving lives; we’re changing them.”