Background
CARE launched the U.S. CARE Package Relief program in 2020, in response to economic and food insecurity created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Working with local partners, CARE assisted vulnerable women and families with access to food, cash, and jobs. This work was made possible by community groups, local government agencies, and gig platform agencies and occurred in San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston, Louisville, Los Angeles, and Akron, OH. Across these six cities, we delivered 13M+ meals to food-insecure populations and put over $1.8M directly in workers’ pockets.
Today, our emergency response work directly addresses gender. Disasters disproportionately affect women and girls of color because of inequities in political, economic and social resources. In the U.S., just as in so many other countries in which CARE works, emergency response often ignores or is unable to reach the most vulnerable residents: primarily women, children, and people of color. Through the CARE Partner Network, CARE works to ensure that women and families can find stability and recover after a life-changing tragedy. The network consists of trusted local partners, many of which are women- and/or BIPOC-led, who understand their communities’ needs.
Intervention
Today’s U.S. CARE Package provides life-saving food and cash assistance to the most vulnerable women, and communities of color, and creates income-generation opportunities for people in affected communities. Our work with CARE Partner Network partners to provide cash assistance, food, and jobs is tailored to reach the overlooked and homebound. This approach has proven capable of addressing multiple challenges that face stakeholders with vulnerable families, job seekers, and neighborhood and grassroots organizations.
