Summary

Food security exists when people have physical and economic access to enough food so that their dietary needs are met and they can lead productive and healthy lives. Food security includes several dimensions, including availability (when enough supplies of food of appropriate quality are consistently available to all persons); access (when households have adequate resources to buy foods that are part of a nutritious diet); and utilization (the proper biological uses of food through adequate diet, water, sanitation, and health care). This testimony discusses (1) the current status and future outlook for world food security in general, (2) Africa's food security dilemma in particular, (3) U.S. food aid and food aid programs, and (4) the World Food Summit scheduled for November 1996.