Bush releases $200 million in emergency food aid

By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Monday ordered the release of $200 million in U.S. emergency food aid to help alleviate food shortages in developing countries in Africa and elsewhere, the White House said.

Bush took action a day after top finance and development officials from around the world called for urgent steps to stem rising food prices, warning that social unrest would spread unless the cost of basic staples was contained.

"This additional food aid will address the impact of rising commodity prices on U.S. emergency food aid programs and be used to meet unanticipated food aid needs in Africa and elsewhere," the White House said in a statement.

Bush directed the agriculture secretary to draw down on the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust, a food reserve for emergency needs in the developing world, to free up about $200 million through the U.S. Agency for International Development.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino had said Bush, who was briefed about the food crisis during a cabinet meeting earlier on Monday, was "very concerned" and asked senior aides to look into ways the United States could help ease shortages.

Washington provided more than $2.1 billion in international food aid in fiscal 2007.

Perino had said the administration was sticking to its proposal to buy more of the food used in assistance programs from suppliers closer to needy countries, which would cut transportation costs. U.S. agricultural interests have resisted the idea.

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