WASHINGTON, Aug. 18, 2004 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced that it will donate 8,300 metric tons of U.S. agricultural commodities to International Partnership for Human Development, Inc. (IPHD), a private voluntary organization, for a children’s education and nutrition project in Moldova.

The commodities, which include 4,010 tons of bread flour, 2,200 tons of potato flakes, 1,370 tons of pinto beans and 720 tons of vegetable oil, are part of a USDA assistance package valued at around $6.7 million for this project.

IPHD will provide school lunches to 300,000 children in 2,500 schools and preschools over a five-month period. In addition to encouraging school enrollment and attendance, this project will monitor the physical development and nutrition of preschool children and improve kitchens in the poorest rural schools.

The donation will be made under the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, administered by the Foreign Agricultural Service. The

McGovern-Dole program provides for USDA donations of agricultural commodities to promote education, child development and food security for some of the world’s poorest children. USDA expects to provide nearly 70,000 tons of U.S. commodities to 13 countries under fiscal year 2004 McGovern-Dole donation agreements.

For further information, contact Cristina Fundeneanu of FAS at (202) 720-6868, or by e-mail at Christina.Fundeneanu@fas.usda.gov.

FAS news releases are available on the Internet at http://www.fas.usda.gov.

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PR 0158-04