The Food Assistance Convention is an international treaty relating to food assistance. It was adopted on 25 April 2012 in London.^[1] The treaty aims at "addressing the food and nutritional needs of the most vulnerable populations" and includes mechanisms for information sharing and registration of commitments made towards such assistance.^[2] The treaty entered into force on 1 January 2013.

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Food Assistance Convention

Ratifiers and (potential) signatories to the convention   Party to the convention   Party, part of the European Union (which is a party)   Signed   Signed, part of the European Union (which is a party)   Potential signatory, part of the European Union (which is a party)   Potential signatory
Location	London, UK
Sealed	25 April 2012
Effective	1 January 2013
Condition	Ratification by 5 signatories
Signatories	14:[1]  Australia  Austria  Bulgaria  Canada  Denmark  European Union  France  Germany  Greece  Japan  Luxembourg  Portugal  South Korea   Switzerland  United States
Parties	17:[1]  Australia  Austria  Canada  Denmark  European Union  France  Finland  Japan  Luxembourg  State of Palestine  Russia  Slovenia  South Korea  Spain  Sweden   Switzerland  United States
Depositary	Secretary General of the United Nations
Languages	English and French
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The convention is a renegotiated version of the Food Aid Convention, as of 2012 the only legally binding international treaty on food aid. The Food Aid Convention is however only focused on a limited number of food items (expressed in wheat equivalent tons), whereas the Food Assistance Convention is focused on "nutritious food" in general and leaves it up to parties to the convention to state commitments in wheat equivalents or in monetary terms.^[3]

The negotiations have taken place in the framework of the present participants of the food aid convention, and there has been criticism that recipient countries and civil society have been left out.^[3]

The convention was opened for signature on 11 June until 31 December 2012^[1] for 34 states as well as the European Union. From 2013, it was opened to accession to all states and "customs territories" that did not sign the convention.^[1] The convention entered into force on 1 January 2013, as it had been ratified by at least five signatories at that time. As of September 2018, Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, European Union, Finland, France, Japan, Luxembourg, the State of Palestine, Russia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States have become parties to the treaty. The states which have signed but not ratified are Bulgaria, Germany, and Portugal.