WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2002 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced that it will donate 8,000 metric tons of yellow corn to International Orthodox Christian Charities, Inc., (IOCC) for use in Lebanon under the Global Food for Education (GFE) program. IOCC, a private voluntary organization, will sell the commodity and use the proceeds for school feeding and school support programs.

IOCC will extend its current GFE program for 12 months to provide school lunches to approximately 5,600 school children ages 5-11 using proceeds from the sale. In addition, some of the proceeds will be used to provide health, environmental and civic education awareness programs for school children and to implement infrastructure improvements in participating schools.

This donation is made under USDA=s Section 416(b) program, administered by the Foreign Agricultural Service. This agreement is part of the $300-million pilot GFE initiative to expand access to basic education and improve childhood development in poor countries.

For further information, contact Delphine Hamlin of FAS at (202) 720-4233, or send a message via the Internet to Delphine.Hamlin@fas.usda.gov. Information on the GFE initiative can be found on the Internet at http://www.fas.usda.gov/excredits/gffei.html.

FAS news releases are available on the Internet at http://www.fas.usda.gov and by fax polling. Callers should set their fax machines for polling and dial (202) 720-1728. For additional information about Web or fax access, contact FAS Public Affairs Division at (202) 720-7115.

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PR 0277-02