During the Cold War, food assistance served as a tool for international diplomacy. Confident that American prosperity provided a sufficient bulwark against hunger at home, the U.S. government shipped surplus agricultural products abroad to countries at risk of famine. But some pushed then-President Dwight Eisenhower to respond more urgently to domestic hunger. Congresswoman Leonor Sullivan of Missouri repeatedly sponsored bills recognizing the right of all Americans to food, and secured funding for an investigation into the original 1930’s Food Stamps program.