This year’s International Food Aid Conference (IFAC) in Kansas City, Missouri, held April 6-8, 2009, provided both an opportunity to become familiar with new administration officials, and to learn about new program developments. The keynote speakers were Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Acting Assistant Administrator for the USAID Bureau of Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance Dirk Dijkerman. Secretary Vilsack spoke about chronic and acute food insecurity, school feeding and agriculture and the need to increase agricultural production and improve trade. He noted that for the first time there are one billion chronically hungry people around the world, and that President Obama would like the U.S. to play a leadership role in sharing our bounty to meet these needs. Assistant Administrator Dijkerman also emphasized that as the world’s top provider of food assistance, the generosity of the U.S. sets an example.  He also spoke about the need to address urgent food needs, USAID’s food aid quality review, initiatives to improve food security through increased agricultural productivity, support for local and regional purchase through the WFP Purchase for Progress program, and improvements in addressing chronic malnutrition through the Preventing Malnutrition Among Children Under Two Approach.

Six Land O'Lakes staff members attended the IFAC conference. Zaheer Baber made a presentation on “Partnership for School Nutrition” as part of a School Feeding panel. Fred Grant spoke on “Supporting the Zambian Food Industry to Develop Specialized Food Products” as part of a nutrition panel. 

A Land O'Lakes booth featured information about our USDA School Nutrition Programs in Asia and specialized nutritional products developed in Zambia with Land O'Lakes technical assistance. A banner across the top of the display summed it up: “Land O'Lakes assists local processors to develop quality nutritious foods using imported and local ingredients.” Samples of nutritious “Go Power” TM biscuits developed in Zambia were made available to conference participants.