In a warehouse in Fitzgerald, Georgia, Mark Moore lets a handful of shelled peanuts slip through his fingers, calling them “God’s food.” Once a missionary in Uganda, Moore is now co-founder of MANA Nutrition, a nonprofit that has helped feed over 10 million malnourished children worldwide since 2010 using packets of protein-rich peanut paste made in rural Georgia.
“This saves children,” Moore said. “It’s not an exaggeration—we defeat death.”
But MANA itself is now facing a fight for survival. Massive cuts to U.S. international aid programs under President Donald Trump have jeopardised the nonprofit’s future, slashing the federal funding that once comprised 90% of its $100 million annual budget.
The blow came earlier this year when the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), long a cornerstone of U.S. foreign humanitarian work, had its contracts with MANA abruptly terminated. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Trump’s cost-cutting initiative formerly led by billionaire Elon Musk, declared MANA’s mission “not aligned with Agency priorities,” according to official correspondence reviewed by Reuters.
In terse letters, USAID offered no further explanation beyond saying MANA’s work was “not in the national interest.” Repeated attempts to obtain a comment from the State Department, which oversees USAID, have gone unanswered.
Moore says the organisation can only continue operating through August unless new funding sources are secured. Still, he remains committed to keeping the plant’s 130 employees on the job and the factory’s 80,000-square-foot facility running.
“We’ve been put on Earth for a purpose,” Moore said. “Jesus told his disciples to go and feed the people. So, we’ve been hustling nonstop.”
Each packet of MANA’s peanut-based formula—roughly the size of a cell phone—contains powdered milk, sugar, and essential vitamins. Most are shipped to sub-Saharan Africa, where malnutrition remains the leading cause of death among children.
Dr. Mark Manary, a global nutrition expert at Washington University in St. Louis who helped develop the formula, emphasised the product’s life-saving impact. “It saves children who are at the brink of no return,” he said. “It’s hard to wrap your mind around the need.”
MANA is now seeking partnerships with major humanitarian organisations such as UNICEF, Save the Children, and the International Rescue Committee. Moore says some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed support for resuming U.S. funding for global food aid.
The nonprofit has also benefited from past private philanthropy. British billionaire and hedge fund manager Chris Hohn has donated more than $250 million through his Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, helping expand MANA’s production capacity. But Moore says new funding—whether from philanthropists or contracts—is essential for the nonprofit’s survival.
“We built this to feed the world’s children,” Moore said. “And we’re not giving up.”
reuters/s.s