Washington  - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Thursday the United States in the next few weeks will announce additional steps to respond to the rising food shortage throughout the world.

Rice said the move would come in addition to the 350 million dollars in emergency spending requested from Congress and the 200 million dollars announced by President George W Bush on Monday.

"In the weeks ahead, we hope to announce ... further steps to help ease the burden of rising food prices on the world's neediest people," Rice told reporters.

The US response comes after meetings in Washington last weekend when World Bank President Robert Zoellick urged governments in developed countries to meet the World Food Programme's call for 500 million dollars in extra food aid by the end of April.

Relief agencies have cited rapidly spreading hunger and the threat of starvation in the poorest countries due to a spike in global prices for food commodities.

Bush released the 200 million dollars in emergency spending through the US Agency for International Development. The emergency US aid is in addition to annual US food aid of more than 2.1 billion dollars. The United States contributes about half the world's food aid. (dpa)