3 days ago
USAID cuts threaten ‘God's food' made in Georgia for children in need
He has vowed to keep his factory going and his 130 workers employed, even as the Trump administration has slashed 90% of USAID contracts and $60bn in US assistance across the board.
One possibility is finding another international aid organisation to support the manufacture and distribution of Mana's peanut paste packets, each about the size of a cellphone. Most of the product, which also includes powdered milk, sugar and vitamins, goes to Africa, where Moore served as a missionary in Uganda for 10 years.
'It saves children who are at the brink of no return,' said Mark Manary, an expert in childhood nutrition at Washington University's Institute for Public Health who helped develop the paste's formula.
'It's hard to wrap your mind around the need.'
Manary said the food created in Georgia and at a similar operation in Rhode Island, Edesia Nutrition, is an important link in the global effort to stave off starvation of children in countries where the main killer is malnutrition.
Moore hopes legislators and the Trump administration will see the value in the work and put the money back into the new federal budget.
'I believe the US government will remain involved in global food aid,' he said, adding he has spoken to Republicans and Democrats who want the work to continue.
Moore is also seeking contracts with other organisations that specialise in humanitarian aid for children in crisis, including Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Unicef. The organisations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
One bright spot in recent years was an infusion of cash from Chris Hohn, a hedge-fund billionaire based in London and a philanthropist with the Children's Investment Fund Foundation. Hohn's charity did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In recent years, Hohn has given more than $250m to Mana Nutrition, according to Moore, much of it spent on expanding the plant, more than doubling its space and adding new machinery.
However, Mana needs new contracts to go forward, or another donation from philanthropists.
'We've been put on Earth for a purpose,' Moore said.
'Jesus told his disciples to go and feed the people. So we've been hustling nonstop.'
Reuters
