It was 75 years ago this May when the first CARE packages of food began arriving in Europe to feed the hungry. This new charity, know then Co-operative for American Remittances to Europe (CARE), represented the very best of America.
At first using Army surplus rations in Germany, CARE started giving boxes of food to the hungry in Europe. Just a year after World War II, Europeans were suffering because of severe food shortages. The destruction from the war and also harsh weather had left Europe in ruins and unable to produce enough food.
Through CARE, American citizens could donate and help European families through difficult post war years. Every CARE package was food and hope for a continent on the doorstep of famine.
General Lucius Clay, who headed the American forces in Germany, pleaded for CARE packages for the hungry. Clay wrote, “When a CARE package arrived the consumer knew it was aid from America and that even the bitterness of war had not destroyed our compassion for suffering.”
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