She Feeds the World: An integrated framework for ending hunger

In the nearly 80 years since CARE was founded, both global hunger and our approach to solving it have evolved. We know food aid, while critical in emergencies, cannot end it alone. Helping communities move from precarity to stability involves long- term planning, research, sustained investment, and trust-building across sectors, from community members and local partners to governments, supply chain providers, and fellow INGOs.

Every community is different, however, and solving hunger requires adaptation and agility – qualities sometimes lacking in traditional models. Achieving sustainable success is also more likely when solutions are led and informed by local expertise and voices, especially women’s voices. Interventions that fail to account for context by taking a one-size-fits-all approach can be more costly and less effective for that community.

And yet – the growing urgency and magnitude of the global hunger crisis demands scalable solutions now. Governments need programs that can be easily replicated and may refuse to fund projects limited in scope. But as communities wait for scalable solutions, hunger and malnutrition increase. And when malnutrition takes hold, families can suffer the consequences for generations due to the irreversible and devastating effects stunting has on malnourished children.

For INGOs like CARE, designing food programming that can adapt to unique needs while also scaling quickly has been a necessary challenge. In 2018, CARE developed a new programmatic framework known as She Feeds the World, combining the best of our approaches and that of our partners. An $18.2M investment from the PepsiCo Foundation then gave CARE the opportunity to design a highly successful program based off that framework.

The She Feeds the World Programmatic Framework collectively addresses leading causes of hunger and malnutrition by working directly with women and youth to build their skills and confidence in sustainable agriculture practices, market engagement, gender equality, and food and nutrition security. It’s an adaptable framework that can be applied in various ways to fit different local, national, or regional contexts. It also helps us collaborate with others to scale solutions so we can reach a greater number of people faster and more sustainably than traditional approaches allow.

Framework overview

Updated in 2024, the She Feeds the World Programmatic Framework focuses on eight interrelated areas of change, and it uses four pathways to achieve maximum impact: scaling up and adapting proven models, systems strengthening and social accountability, advocacy, and promoting norms change.

She Feeds the World serves as the guiding framework of all CARE’s food and water systems programming, which is currently operating in more than 120 projects and over 40 countries. The framework supports CARE’s 2030 vision of improving food security and nutrition for 75 million women producers and their families.

1. Promoting integrated water resources management and ecosystem protection and restoration

   Poor water management, worsened by climate change, can exacerbate cycles of drought, food insecurity, migration, and other crises. CARE works to protect and restore ecosystems, particularly in water- scarce contexts, through water- smart agriculture, sustainable water management, rainwater harvesting, and improved access to water for women and youth. Such practices help reduce stress on local ecosystems so water supplies remain stable.

2. Enhancing sustainable agriculture

   Sustainable farming practices are essential for small-scale producers, who must make the most of limited land and resources. Women and youth often lack technical training in sustainable agriculture and may be excluded from extension and advisory services as well as key inputs and assets, such as drought- resistant seeds, land, and livestock. We help close the gap in these areas and advocate for better community networks and government services.

3. Increasing access to inclusive markets for safe and nutritious foods

   Commercial markets are largely designed for men, making it difficult for women to achieve their full economic potential. CARE empowers women and youth to join producer collectives and learn market-based skills, such as negotiating better prices and opportunities. Through their collective agency, women are influencing market systems and practices, boosting inclusivity and equity for all.

4. Increasing access to water, sanitation, and hygiene services (WASH)

   WASH is crucial for dignity, health, and well-being. CARE enables sustainable WASH services through good governance, policy, and monitoring at all levels. We strengthen service providers, integrate climate-smart WASH, and promote good hygiene practices. We also emphasize women’s leadership in WASH decision-making, given their familial responsibility to collect water and specific needs for menstrual hygiene knowledge and products.

5. Improving nutrition

   Greater availability of food – even nutritious food – and/or higher incomes do not automatically translate to improved nutrition, which is why we include nutrition-positive practices in our programming. From homestead gardens to policy, CARE promotes a range of multi-sectoral, integrated approaches to strengthen nutrition of children under 2, women of reproductive age, and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers.

6. Preventing food loss and waste

   Food loss and waste, from pre- production to post-consumption, significantly impacts the financial stability, food security, and resiliency of small-scale producers. To address this, CARE employs its Gendered Circular Food Economy Model, which considers problems throughout the value chain and emphasizes local solutions led by women and youth.

7. Promoting diversified and resilient livelihoods

   Relying on a single source of income provides limited protection from economic or environmental shocks. CARE helps women and youth increase resiliency by diversifying their income opportunities through training, development of new skills, entrepreneurial support, stronger social networks, and market access. CARE also advocates for policies and systems that support good infrastructure and local development and businesses.

8. Strengthening social protection and building accountable, efficient, inclusive local structures and systems

   We and our partners work to help at-risk households find a sustainable path to food security, including in times of crisis or periods of chronic poverty. Major interventions include food aid, school meals, vouchers, and cash assistance – all delivered in ways designed to help households “graduate” from social protection programs as their livelihoods are transformed.