International food aid is indispensable to emergency relief in times of crisis, and it can be an important source of support to development activities when care is taken to ensure that markets continue to provide an incentive for food producers to increase their production. Based on experience in assessing the impact of food aid, new ways have been devised to provide assistance for coping with food crises that minimize the possible negative effects on the recipient countries' agricultural sector and prevent the development of unsustainable food consumption habits.