1885

The American Red Cross provides funds to support victims of Texas Famine

1889

South Fork Dam at Johnstown, Pennsylvania bursts killing thousands. Clara Barton and American Red Cross volunteers arrive within 48 hours to set up feeding stations and provide medical assistance to over 20,000 victims.

1892

In the first major American Red Cross relief effort overseas, Clara Barton arranges for shipment of donated Iowa corn for Russian famine victims. The American Red Cross-sponsored contributions totaled $125,000.

1893

Hurricane strikes the Sea Islands, South Carolina. The American Red Cross helps feed more than 30,000 homeless and starving persons and provides medical help and seeds for a rehabilitation project.

1896

Clara Barton leads a team to assist suffering Armenians in what is present day Turkey. With the cooperation of the Turkish government, the American Red Cross sent four expeditions into the interior of the country providing 350,000 Armenian refugees with food and medical relief.

1898

State of Texas sets sail for Havana, Cuba with 1,400 tons of food. Ship is detained because of U.S. naval blockade for two months. The American Red Cross sets up field kitchens in Santiago, feeding about 50,000 refugees in the first five days.

1902

Clara Barton attends 7th International Conference of the Red Cross in St. Petersburg, Russia where she is decorated for American Red Cross help during Russian famine of 1892.

1906

President Theodore Roosevelt appeals to the public to send funds to the American Red Cross to be forwarded to the Japanese Red Cross in aid of the victims of famine there.

1908

City of Messina, Italy, and extensive surrounding area is devastated by earthquake and tidal wave. Deaths estimated at more than 75,000. The American Red Cross sends food, medical supplies, funds and staff.

1916

The American Red Cross cooperates with the US Navy Department in providing funds for food and medical care for victims of political unrest in Haiti.

1918

The American Red Cross Commission to North Russia sails for Archangel from NYC with 4,200 tons of food and medicines for relief of civilians. Later the work expands to include comfort items and supplemental food items for US troops.

1919

The American Red Cross Relief Unit arrives in Albania. Operates hospitals; distributes food and clothing.

1919

Civilian relief unit of Balkan Commission arrives in Serbia. Establishes feeding stations for children at Sarajevo and Mostar; helps American Relief Administration with food distribution and home health care.

1920

The American Red Cross sends John Earl Baker as director of China Famine Relief in Shantung Province, plus $1 million to support the work-relief project staffed by various missionary societies.

1923

Massive earthquake, typhoon and fires devastate Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan killing 200,000 and leaving approximately 2 million homeless. The American Red Cross launches Japanese Relief Fund, which helps 2 million victims by providing $12 million for food, clothing, medical goods, building supplies, a memorial hospital, and a large grant to the Earthquake Relief Bureau.

1932

During the Great Depression, President Hoover approves Act of Congress authorizing Federal Farm Board to transfer to American Red Cross surplus wheat, as food for the needy in all States, and as feed for livestock in the 1931 crop failure area.

1940

Agreement between US and Spanish governments for US purchase of flour, milk concentrates and medical supplies to be distributed in famine-threatened areas of Spain under American Red Cross supervision.

1940

The American Red Cross "mercy ship" McKEESPORT arrives in Marseilles, France with food and medical supplies to be distributed under American Red Cross supervision to refugees crowded into southern France.

1940

The American Red Cross delegation established in China to arrange distribution of US government-purchased shipments of food and medical supplies for Free China.

1941

First shipment of American Red Cross standard food packages, clothing and soap to Geneva for Allied prisoners of war and internees in Europe.

1941

The American Red Cross food and medical supplies are delivered to Egypt for distribution through the British Red Cross to refugees, needy civilians, sick and wounded of military forces in Egypt, Syria, Eritrea and Abyssinia [Ethiopia].

1941

Beginning of weekly distribution from Geneva of American Red Cross food parcels for American internees in Italy, Germany, Belgium and occupied France and for Americans taken prisoner while serving with Allied armies or on merchant ships.

1943

Fifty American Red Cross Civilian War Relief staff begins helping the Army to provide emergency food, clothing, medical care and shelter for needy civilians in Italy.

1944

The American Red Cross publishes a book of recipes using food in the standard food packages. The book is published for distribution to American POW and internees.

1944

100 American Red Cross staff work with Army Civil Affairs officers to help provide food, clothing, medical care and shelter for needy civilians in France, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands.

1955

The American Red Cross begins delivering food and comfort parcels twice a month to the Chinese Red Cross for US civilians imprisoned in China as enemy aliens. In five years the deliveries total more than 7 tons of food.

1962

The American Red Cross begins collection and shipment of children's food and medical supplies for Cuba in exchange for release of 1,113 Cuban participants in the Bay of Pigs invasion of April 1961.

1963

End of a six-year League-UN civil strife operation for Algerian refugees in Morocco and Tunisia. Start of new relief program for sufferers within Algeria. The American Red Cross sends food, funds, staff and chapter-produced Arab-style garments.

1963

Cuban Prisoners Project ends. In six months, the American Red Cross delivered $53 million of corporation-donated food, medicines and health supplies; transported prisoners and refugees to US.

1972

The American Red Cross assists Project FIND, a U.S. government program to reach all eligible older persons to encourage them to apply for federal food assistance. The American Red Cross recruits, trains, and supervises 35,000 volunteers.

1979

The American Red Cross assists in the Cambodian famine. The American Red Cross medical teams are recruited and flown to refugee camps in Thailand where thousands of Cambodian refugees are suffering illness and starvation.

1985

The American Red Cross, with the Federation and the International Committee of the Red Cross, launches unprecedented African Relief campaign to help feed millions of starving in the drought-stricken Sub-Saharan Africa. With the support of the American public, the American Red Cross raised more than $24.5 million-far exceeding the initial $5 million goal. The US government channeled more than $34.8 million in surplus food through the American Red Cross and gave an additional $12.4 million directly to the ICRC.

1985

International rock stars congregate at Wembley Stadium, London, and JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, for 16-hour Live Aid benefit concert to fight famine in Ethiopia. Raises an estimated $100 million.

1991

With the International Federation, the American Red Cross assists thousands of at risk Albanians with food as the country struggles to overcome a desperate economic situation.

1991

The American Red Cross intensifies efforts for ethnic groups displaced after breakdown of former Soviet Union. Emphasis on foodstuffs and medical supplies that benefit elderly, orphans and pregnant women.

1992

The American Red Cross joins other Red Cross National Societies in sending aid to Somalia and neighboring countries racked by famine and terrorized by bandit warlords.

1992

USDA awards the American Red Cross a $16.5 million grant in commodities and funding to distribute food to the vulnerable in Turkmenistan through the republic's Red Crescent society.

1993

The American Red Cross, in cooperation with the Federation, begins providing family food parcels and housing winterization materials for refugees in Armenia. During this time 90,000 food parcels were delivered to 270,000 beneficiaries. In the following year, an additional 190,000 family food parcels were distributed to refugees.

1993-4

In partnership with the International Federation and International Committee of the Red Cross, the American Red Cross distributes some 23,000 metric tons of U.S. government-funded food supplies to displaced Bosnian refugees in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia, as well as at risk beneficiaries in Albania.

1994

The American Red Cross distributes 1,000 tons of wheat flour and rice to residents of earthquake-devastated regions of Gyumri and Spitak, Armenia assisting 250,000 people. In collaboration with ICRC, the American Red Cross also begins providing assistance to residents of the Northeast border regions of Armenia. This three-year relief program provided food, heating, and agricultural materials to 20 villages.

1994

The American Red Cross team works with the International Federation and local Red Cross society distributing emergency food supplies funded by U.S. government to 65,000 war victims in central Bosnia.

1995

The American Red Cross begins assisting refugees of Rwanda conflict residing in Zaire. The American Red Cross contributes more than $18 million in cash and donated supplies while working with the Federation to distribute food, water, and medical supplies to the thousands of Rwandan refugees.

1995

The American Red Cross works with the Armenian Red Cross to distribute bulk food commodities to institutions and hospitals. Over the length of the program, 8,000 tons of commodities including beans, rice, milk powder and wheat flour were distributed to 260 institutions and hospitals throughout Armenia.

1995

An American Red Cross team works with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the local Red Cross society distributing U.S. government funded emergency food supplies to 65,000 war victims in central Bosnia.

1996

With funding from USAID and cooperation of Bulgarian Red Cross, the American Red Cross begins food distribution program to provide staples for up to 100,000 people.

1996

The American Red Cross, with the International Committee of the Red Cross, expands its Bosnian feeding program to cover Bosnians, Croats and Serbs who are unable to access adequate food following the war. Beneficiaries total some 150,000 in both the Bosnian Federation and Serb Republic.

1997

The Bulgarian food program continues and data is collected showing the particular vulnerability of the elderly in Bulgaria. The program continues though 1998 and ends in 1999.

1998

The American Red Cross, with USAID funding, begins a food distribution in Serbia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

1998

In response Hurricane Georges which devastated the Dominican Republic, the American Red Cross provides 12,000 tons of food assistance worth $7.8 million to more than 156,000 vulnerable people for 10 months while staple crops were planted and brought to harvest the following year.

1998

In response to Hurricane Mitch, the American Red Cross distributes food to devastated populations in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

1998

A 12-month Supplemental Feeding Project is initiated by the Russian Red Cross and American Red Cross to assist vulnerable families affected by the economic crisis.

1998

The American Red Cross launches USDA-funded Emergency Food program in Azerbaijan assisting 32,000 people.

1998

The American Red Cross, working with the International Federation, targets some 55,000 elderly Serb refugees with 3,200 metric tons of U.S. government funded commodities in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

1999

In its food distribution program, the American Red Cross and Russian Red Cross distribute 24,485 tons of wheat flour, rice, dry green peas and vegetable oil. Food is distributed to more than 434,000 families, feeding well over 1 million people.

1999

The American Red Cross implements an USAID-supported 12-month food distribution project for 50,000 beneficiaries in Macedonia.

1999

The American Red Cross implements a USAID-supported Emergency Feeding program for 30,000 elderly Albanians.

1999

In response to the crisis in Kosovo, the American Red Cross and the ICRC operate 10 feeding centers providing 844,000 hot meals over a period of 8 months to both sides of the conflict. This covers 1,500 vulnerable households in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The American Red Cross/ICRC assistance also includes a winter wheat seeds distribution to 90,000 Kosovar farmers and their families to support their agricultural recovery.

1999

Seeds, tools and fertilizer are distributed as an agricultural rehabilitation strategy to populations in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua still recovering from Hurricane Mitch.

1999

The American Red Cross begins implementation of a USDA Supplemental Food Aid program distributing 21,700 tons of commodities to elderly, multi-children and single-parent families, orphans and disabled persons in Siberia, Russia. Over the next two years, the program assists more than 700,000 people. With private funding, the American Red Cross also supports more than 1,300 orphans with food assistance.

2000

In 2000, the American Red Cross assists with emergency food interventions in a number of natural disasters:

• India floods
• Venezuela floods
• Hurricane Keith in Belize

2000

The American Red Cross continues to assist vulnerable Macedonians with monthly distributions of food parcels for more than 70,000 unemployed persons. The American Red Cross also provides 17,000 refugee host families with food parcels. With the Macedonian Red Cross, the American Red Cross distributes potato seeds to farmers in northern Macedonia.

2000

The American Red Cross continues to distribute monthly food parcels to 30,000 elderly pensioners for 12 months in Albania.

2000

The American Red Cross launches a US government-funded Food and Seeds Distribution project to distribute food to 25,000 drought-affected farmers in Ethiopia. Via the ICRC and the Federation, the American Red Cross also sends $1 million to purchase food supplies for the two regions in Ethiopia hardest hit by drought and starvation.

2000

After devastating floods in southern Africa, the American Red Cross funds the Malawi Red Cross for a seeds and tools distribution for 20,000 households.

2000

The American Red Cross initiates the Aral Sea USDA Emergency Food Aid program to distribute 7,000 tons of food to approximately 76,500 individuals and families affected by tuberculosis living in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

2000

In response to earthquake and floods, the American Red Cross and the Mexican Red Cross distribute 9,000 supplemental family food packages to 1,500 vulnerable families in Oaxaca, Mexico.

2000

The American Red Cross, with US government funding and Kenya Red Cross Society support, distribute seeds and fertilizer to 125,500 drought affected people in Machakos district of Kenya.

2000

In partnership with ICRC and the Canadian Red Cross, the American Red Cross supports a six-month Public Kitchen Project to provided meals to 15,000 beneficiaries in Kosovo [FRY].

2001

In response to extreme winter conditions in China, the American Red Cross helps Chinese Red Cross purchase wheat, winter clothes and quilts.

2001

In partnership with the ICRC and the Canadian Red Cross, the American Red Cross manages a Micro Bakeries Pilot Project providing daily hot meals to more than 17,000 vulnerable persons in the NoviSad region of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

2001

The coldest winter in 30 years strikes eastern Russia. In response, the American Red Cross distributes 24,000 tons of American-donated food to Siberia.

2001

With local Red Cross societies in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, the American Red Cross assists drought- and then flood- stricken farmers with a combination of seeds, tools, fertilizer and training.

2002

The American Red Cross provides food parcels to 20,000 villagers isolated by snowstorms in Albania.

2002

The American Red Cross takes part in a consortium to respond to the food crisis in Malawi. At the peak of the crisis, Red Cross assists more than 250,000 beneficiaries with direct food distributions.

2002

The American Red Cross continues to assist vulnerable populations through large-scale feeding programs in Bulgaria, Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

2003

In response to drought in Ethiopia, the Red Cross and other NGO partners launch an emergency relief operation. The programs transitions to a food-for-work recovery program once the emergency subsides.

2004

In partnership with the Vietnam Red Cross Society, 50,000 primary school children and 200,000 family members benefit from school feeding, provision of take-home food rations, and deworming medication, and school-based nutrition and hygiene education.

2005

The American Red Cross partnered with the United Nations World Food Program to feed two million people affected by the tsunamis in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Maldives through the provision and distribution of emergency food aid.