In a small Georgia town, workers have been churning out packets of shelf-stable, nutrient-rich rice intended to feed starving children around the world. The product, VitaRice, was developed by a nonprofit and manufactured with support from USAID. It was never about politics, it was about saving lives. Until Donald Trump decided otherwise.
With his administration’s sweeping cuts to foreign aid, Trump has brought production to a halt. Pallets of food are now sitting in warehouses, undelivered, as funding dries up. The damage is global, but the fallout is local too. American jobs are at stake, and communities in the South that once took pride in being part of something bigger are watching their work be dismantled.
This isn’t some bureaucratic boondoggle. It’s food, produced in Georgia, that was headed to children suffering through drought, famine, and conflict. And now, thanks to Trump’s choices, it’s going nowhere.
The absurdity is hard to overstate. In the name of “America First,” we’re cutting off aid that costs pennies on the dollar but saves millions of lives. We’re destroying a program that helped both global communities and local economies. For all his talk of protecting the working class, Trump is undermining it, especially in the rural South.
People may disagree on policy, but there used to be a consensus that feeding hungry children wasn’t a controversial issue. Sending lifesaving food to disaster zones was something America should do. Now, even that’s being scrapped.
This is what happens when cruelty becomes the point. Food rots, lives are lost, and the people trying to help, at home and abroad, are left powerless.
Even in the heart of Trump country, his decisions are backfiring. And children thousands of miles away are paying the price.
Official Launch: Join Us in Washington, D.C. on July 9
After months of organizing, the Alliance for American Leadership is officially launching on July 9 in Washington, D.C. A4L is a new think tank and PAC focused on rebuilding broad, bipartisan support for U.S. foreign assistance.
Foreign aid isn’t charity, it’s strategy. It saves lives, strengthens alliances, and reflects America’s deepest values. Whether it’s fighting famine, providing HIV medication, or helping communities rebuild after conflict or disaster, smart foreign assistance promotes peace, stability, and global cooperation. And it costs less than one percent of the federal budget.
But foreign aid is under attack. Critical programs have been gutted. Shipments of food and medicine are stuck in warehouses. Lives are being lost while our political leaders look away.
We’re done waiting.
This is the first of 50 launch events planned in states across the country—from New York and California to Mississippi, Indiana, and Tennessee. A4L is working to show that Americans from all regions and backgrounds believe in leading with compassion, dignity, and responsibility.
RSVP for the July 9 launch party in D.C.: https://lnkd.in/edhDaMTF
Donate to support this work: https://givebutter.com/A4AL/samuelgeurtsenshoemate
Here’s what you can do today:
Call Congress. The Capitol switchboard is (202) 224-3121. Ask to speak with your senators and representative. Let them know you support humanitarian and development assistance, and that you expect them to stand up for it during budget negotiations. A quick call can make a real difference.
Get involved locally. If you're interested in attending or hosting a launch event in your state, let us know. We’re building this movement from the ground up.
Note: I’m a volunteer with the Alliance for American Leadership, but the views expressed in my articles are my own and don’t necessarily reflect the views of A4L.
America is at its best when it leads with purpose. Let’s show that this country still has the heart and the spine to lead.
