Food Aid Creates Revenue for Maritime & Other Industries

The United States' principal international food aid program, Food for Peace, helped create and sustain 866 jobs which resulted in $37m in earnings in the state of Louisiana in 2009. By delivering food aid to foreign countries, the maritime industry employs 11,500 in deep sea freight transportation and sustains more than 97,000 jobs in other parts of the U.S. economy, in occupations dealing with the handling, processing and transporting of commodities from farmers to U.S. and foreign ports, according to a report released today by Promar International and USA Maritime.

The report, "Impacts on the U.S. Economy of Shipping International Food Aid," provides a snapshot of output, earnings, and jobs produced through the Food for Peace program throughout the United States. The leading states for economic impact from transporting food aid included Texas ($712m), Illinois ($201m), Iowa ($110m), Louisiana ($149m), Virginia ($94m), Nebraska ($72m), Oregon ($72m), Minnesota ($71m), Kansas ($71m) and Indiana ($56m).