President Bush's request for $770 million in international food aid was accompanied by a call to change the way in which the aid is used to provide greater flexibility by altering the way the aid is delivered.

The requested aid is on top of the $200 million President Bush released in April to help starving people around the world. However, Thursday's request was attached to a measure seeking $70 billion for the Iraq war, and the additional $770 million would not be available until the next fiscal year starting in October, while the emergency relief is needed now.

While debate on the war funding measure may delay approval, President Bush will likely encounter the opposition of special interests to his plan to change how food aid is used.

President Bush wants to use 25 percent of all U.S. aid to purchase food grown by farmers in foreign countries instead of food grown only here in the United States, which can siphon off food money to other purposes, such as shipping costs.

In addition, foreign food purchases will support farmers in those countries looking for a market for their cheaper product. "As America increases its food assistance, it's really important that we transform the way that food aid is delivered," President Bush said.

Supporting local agricultural development will help "break the cycle of famine," he said.

On Friday, Mr. Bush gained some support for his proposal in a Wall Street Journal column by Norman Borlaugh, 1970 Nobel Peace Price winner, and Andrew Natsios, former administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The writers noted that current U.S. law requires food to be shipped "almost exclusively on American vessels." As a result, they wrote, "ocean-shipping costs are 20 percent to 30 percent of the food-aid budget; and it takes on average over four months to order, buy, ship, off-load and transport food by ground. In a famine, people can die waiting for food to arrive."

In contrast, "purchasing food locally simplifies the process, cuts down the time delay in delivery, reduces the logistical risks, and saves transports costs. These savings can be used to buy more food."

Direct food purchases will also stimulate local economies and agricultural development to expand production and enable countries to feed their own people.

European countries since the 1990s have supported direct food purchases through cash donations to food programs rather than domestic food purchases. This week, Canada said it will also untie its food aid.

The United States should do the same.