Nealesh Padhye, Matt Hebert, Eric Cohen
American agricultural subsidies were originally implemented to stabilize the volatile post-World-War crop market. American agricultural subsidies have created a vast surplus of crops that could damage both the American and global food sectors if sold in an open market. To prevent this, the American government purchases most of this surplus and distributes it abroad as food aid. While distributing food aid enhances the American political image and provides short-term relief to the impoverished in developing nations, it damages local economies and may in fact perpetuate the cycle of poverty and American food dependence that currently characterizes many impoverished nations. This project explores means of reducing the economic damage of food distribution without neglecting the immediate needs of those in poverty. Specifically, this project asserts that a local food purchase program can feed the impoverished while supporting local economies rather than damaging them. Such a program is synergistic with American investment in the infrastructure of developing nations, allowing for both the American economy and developing nations to benefit.