Rising Food Prices Impact Families Worldwide

If you've been paying attention to the news, you know that a "perfect storm" of factors — including soaring fuel prices, erratic weather, and growing demand for biofuels — is pushing global food prices up dramatically.

Surging food prices often hit those who can afford it the least — the very people who Mercy Corps supports in our programs around the world.

Reports from our staff around the world confirm that the situation is dire — and has the potential to grow much worse.

In Niger, prices of bread, powdered milk and wheat flour have spiked, exacerbating the West African nation's precarious food situation. Currently about two-thirds of the population is at serious risk, with shortages pushing the country closer to famine.

In Syria, spiraling food prices have forced Mercy Corps to cut back on the amount of food we can buy and distribute to hundreds of Iraqi refugee families.

Iraqi refugees shop a busy market street in Damascus, Syria. Photo: Jacob Colie/Mercy Corps

In Tajikistan, where we recently distributed blankets and generators to help residents keep warm during an unusually harsh winter, about 40 percent of households in the Rasht Valley are down to no more than one warm meal a day. Neighboring Kazakhstan has suspended wheat exports — shutting off Tajikistan's primary supply of the grain.

We need your help to make sure rising food costs don't imperil our work — helping communities recover from disaster, expanding economic opportunities in the wake of conflict, and supporting hard-working families in their quest to bring positive change to their communities.