International Food Aid & Development Conference New Products and Nutrition Paul Alberghine, USDA-FAS August 3, :30 – 3:30 pm

U.S. Government’s Approach to Improving the Nutritional Quality of Food Aid In recent years increased attention was given to the safety and quality of U.S. food aid contributions. After issues surfaced with processed food aid commodities, the U.S. government began looking for solutions that addressed the quality of rations, particularly their micronutrient content and the appropriateness of foods in the ration. Several studies from GAO, SUSTAIN and Tufts Univ. began examining key challenges to the efficiency and effectiveness of U.S. food aid programs and offered suggestions to improve nutritional quality. In FY 2010 U.S. Congress allocates approximately $14 million to develop more nutritious and micronutrient-fortified food aid products. USDA’s FAS sought proposals for the Micronutrient-Fortified Food Aid Products Pilot (MFFAPP) Program administered under the McGovern- Dole Program. Up to $10 million was made available.

Micronutrient-Fortified Food Aid Products Pilot Under MFFAPP, participants have access to resources to introduce and field test new or improved micronutrient-fortified food aid products Products must be designed to meet the energy and nutrient needs of populations served by McGovern-Dole

What Should Projects Strive to Achieve? FAS hopes to identify new products that will be provided regularly in McGovern-Dole Programs Projects should provide the most improvement in nutrition for targeted beneficiaries in a cost effective manner

MFFAPP Funding FAS has $10 million available for the development and improvement of micronutrient-fortified food products This $10 million is solely for the development and improvement of products

What is a Micronutrient-Fortified Food Aid Product for this Program? USDA defines micronutrient-fortified food aid products as, “foods used for direct feeding that are nutritionally enhanced either through vitamin or mineral additions to address the micronutrient deficiencies of a population or group.”

Proposal Solicitation Solicitation details: Announced April 1, 2010 $10 million available in FY 2010 Due date, May 30, 2010 Three proposals received, totaling approximately $5 million FAS reviewed proposals for impact and results, and proposals that provided greatest impact for targeted population received preference

All MFFAPP Proposals Need to Contain the Following Information: Information on the micronutrient-fortified food aid product An explanation of the need for the product in the targeted country Information about the applicant’s past activities in fortifying food products and food aid distribution projects, if any

Proposals Continued The cost of making and purchasing the product Detailed description of methodology, rationale, and timeline used to field test the product as compared to traditional commodities A detailed description of how the project will be evaluated and a report for FAS completed

Review and Evaluation Evaluation criteria used: Need for the micronutrient- fortified food aid product Focus on the product to be developed or improved Organizational experience and capability Monitoring and evaluation

Anticipated Next Steps FAS plans to announce MFFAPP awards in August 2010 FAS is considering reopening the micronutrient solicitation to generate additional proposals from the PVO community New announcements on the pilot are forthcoming, so please stay tuned