On Tuesday, the US and its G7 countries pledged to spend $4.5 billion this year to help ensure global food security in response to a global food shortage caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The G7 leaders said in a statement that the funding would be used to alleviate what they called a “multidimensional crisis” that has put as many as 323 million people at high risk of food shortages, a record high.

The US and its Western allies are scrambling to find new ways to increase pressure on Russia and shore up the global economy after four months of sanctions on Moscow and military support for Ukraine failed to slow the Russian invasion. At the G7 summit and NATO meeting that began on Tuesday, President Joe Biden and other leaders sought to show their determination to keep punishing Russia even as its war pushes up food and energy prices.

Food prices have soared since the Russian invasion, disrupting Ukrainian grain exports and reducing Russian wheat and oil exports. The two countries typically jointly export about 30% of the world’s wheat and 75% of sunflower oil. The shortage has caused panic across the globe, with estimates that as many as 40 million people could be pushed into poverty.

According to the White House, the US will commit to spending more than half of the new funding on food security — $2.7 billion to be funded by the $40 billion Ukraine aid legislation Congress passed last month.

The $4.5 billion pledge will not solve the global shortage. But a White House statement said the US would provide $2 billion in aid for direct humanitarian intervention in areas facing hunger or famine. Another $760 million will be used to upgrade the food delivery system in the short to medium term.

“These new investments will support the efforts of more than 47 national and regional organisations to support regional programs that meet growing needs,” the White House said.

One of the remaining problems in the US and its European allies’ efforts to free up Ukrainian grain trapped in the country by Russia’s blockade.

A White House official who spoke anonymously to discuss private conversations between G7 leaders said finding a way to get grains into the global food market is a top priority for Biden and his peers. But the official declined to say whether the leaders had identified any concrete plans to make that happen.

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to release food in exchange for sanctions relief, which Biden and other leaders rejected. European officials have accused Putin of committing war crimes by using food as a negotiating tool.

“Vladimir Putin’s actions stifled food and agricultural production and used food as a weapon of war,” the White House said.