The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) has welcomed the Trump administration’s announcement of a new partnership to expand the use of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF) to combat severe acute malnutrition worldwide — a step forward for both global nutrition and America’s dairy farmers, NMPF reports.
The U.S. State Department will provide up to $100 million over the next two years through Operation End Starvation, building on the distribution of more than 27,000 metric tons of RUTFs that treated nearly 2.7 million children in 15 countries last year. RUTF incorporates U.S. milk powders, providing high-quality dairy protein and essential nutrients critical to treating severe acute malnutrition and wasting in young children.
The move reflects years of advocacy by NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC).
In February, Congress approved a record $300 million — backed by NMPF — for RUTF procurement, helping keep U.S. milk powders central to treating malnutrition while creating an additional market for producers.
NMPF and USDEC also submitted comments to the USDA on 24 July, urging it to expand dairy’s role in the non-emergency Food for Peace program — incorporating U.S. milk powders into school milk and other controlled feeding programs via reconstituted fluid milk, increasing procurement of dairy-containing SuperCereal+ formulations, and broadening the use of nutrient-dense U.S. dairy ingredients.
The comments stress dairy’s nutritional value, long shelf life, safety standards, and the chance to pair humanitarian aid with long-term market development.
Source: NMPF
