Tens of thousands of tons of food meant for overseas humanitarian relief are stuck in a Houston port warehouse following President Donald Trump’s 90-day suspension of foreign aid, according to The Houston Chronicle and The Washington Post.
More than $340 million worth of U.S. food aid — including rice, wheat, and soybeans — has been halted due to Trump’s foreign-aid freeze, according to officials and an email obtained by The Washington Post. As a result, hundreds of tons of American-grown wheat remain stranded in Houston, Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said Tuesday.
“Purchases of commodities from farmers that power Food for Peace have stopped. Hundreds of tons of American-grown wheat are stranded in Houston right now,” said Craig. “This hostile takeover of USAID is illegal and unacceptable and creates uncertainty and instability for the agricultural economy.”
USAID manages food aid, disaster relief, and health programs in over 100 countries with a $40 billion budget and over 10,000 staff. Its funding, which also benefits the U.S. economy, was halted by President Trump’s 90-day foreign aid freeze.
The pause, which administration officials have said is intended to rein in wasteful spending, is part of a broader effort to dismantle the agency. USAID’s Food for Peace program, which has long provided surplus crops from American farmers to communities in need, is now at a standstill.
A White House spokesperson defended the move, saying the administration is working to ensure that “taxpayer-funded programs at USAID align with the national interests of the United States, including protecting America’s farmers.”
“He will cut programs that do not align with the agenda that the American people gave him a mandate to implement and keep programs that put America First,” the spokesperson added.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who has been leading the Trump administration’s push to overhaul the federal bureaucracy, has moved to shut down USAID entirely. Employees were reportedly ordered to stop coming to work this week.
“USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die,” Musk wrote on X on Sunday.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated Monday that some of USAID’s programs would be transferred to the State Department.
The Food for Peace program, established in 1954 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, was designed to send surplus American crops to food-insecure regions worldwide. Over the decades, it has helped fight hunger while also providing a key revenue stream for U.S. farmers.
The aid freeze threatens financial losses for farmers who have relied on USAID to purchase crops such as rice, wheat, and sorghum. American farms provide 41 percent of USAID’s annual food aid, in partnership with the USDA. In 2020, the U.S. government purchased $2.1 billion in food aid from American farmers.
Leaders from major farm industry groups expressed hope that American food aid programs would resume.
“USAID plays a critical role in reducing hunger around the world while sourcing markets for the surplus foods America’s farmers and ranchers grow,” said Dave Salmonsen, senior director of government affairs at the American Farm Bureau Federation, in a statement to The Washington Post.
Steven Mercer, vice president of communications for U.S. Wheat Associates, confirmed that USDA grants to purchase 235,000 metric tons of U.S. wheat for food aid have been temporarily halted. The USDA collaborates closely with USAID to distribute these supplies to countries in need.
“We hope to see that pause lifted, as it is an important program that uses U.S.-grown wheat to support development projects and, in the process, gives us a chance to showcase the quality and value of U.S. wheat in local markets,” Mercer said.
Michael Klein, a spokesman for USA Rice, said the group is still evaluating the impact of the funding freeze but warned that rice farmers would likely be affected. In the 2024 fiscal year, the U.S. exported 161,000 metric tons of rice as food aid, valued at more than $126 million.
“There will certainly be an impact,” Klein said. “Is it a temporary pause? Is it a matter of days [or] weeks? We don’t know.”
In addition to farmers, researchers reliant on USAID funding have been furloughed, while smaller companies in industries like global healthcare risk going out of business — potentially displacing office workers and security staff. Industry experts warn that if the spending freeze continues, the disruption will deepen as USAID loses the personnel essential to managing these programs.
“You’re talking about a direct impact on American products and American jobs,” said George Ingram, a senior fellow at the Center for Sustainable Development at the Brookings Institution.
Experts said that USAID’s humanitarian aid programs rely heavily on goods and services provided by U.S. companies and nonprofits.
“The bulk of U.S. assistance is implemented through U.S. organizations,” Ingram said. “A lot of the money starts out with American organizations staffed by Americans.”
The food stuck in Houston—totaling more than 31,000 tons—is part of a broader backlog of over 500,000 tons of aid, valued at approximately $450 million, now at risk of spoilage. USAID shipments are also being held up at seven other major U.S. ports, including Boston, New York, and Miami.
It remains unclear how long the food can be stored before it becomes unusable.
