Family farmers of semi-arid regions are especially vulnerable to climate change, due to the reliance on rain-fed production systems and the limited capacity to cope with and adapt to impacts. The Brazilian Food Acquisition Program (PAA), as an example of a food procurement program that also functions as a food-based safety net for vulnerable populations, is analyzed in a context of extreme drought in the Cariri region (Ceará state, Brazil). Limitations that prevent the full range of potential PAA benefits are examined as perceived by institutional actors involved with the program, while measures to foster the full potential positive impacts on beneficiaries are discussed. Findings indicate that more consideration of the importance of governance and institutional factors on the functioning of food acquisition programs, as well as the importance of the role of climate change on this equation, are essential for program sustainability, especially in a scenario of climate change.