CARE was featured in an interesting story published by the Smithsonian explaining the origins of the “care package”, term widely known in the American culture and originally trademarked by CARE. Initially sent to Europe in the aftermath of WWII, the CARE package was created with the intent of providing aid to Americans who were in war thorn countries in Europe.
According to the New York Public Library archives, “The earliest CARE packages were surplus U.S. Army “Ten-in-One” food parcels, originally intended as G.I. rations, which had the advantage of being pre-boxed and ready for shipment. In 1946, with the help of nutritionists, CARE started to design food packages aimed at families, eliminating such items as cigarettes, to replace the Ten-in-One parcels when that supply was exhausted. The more specialized packages substituted tea for coffee in parcels sent to Britain, added spaghetti to Italian packages, and included kosher packages. Within its first two years of operations, CARE was able to offer its donors a selection if more than a dozen different packages.”
Read the full story here.