Oxfam is an international agency that organizes
famine relief and promotes development. It was founded in
England in
1942 as the
Oxford Committee for Famine Relief, with a mission to send food through the
Allied blockade to the citizens of Nazi-occupied
Greece. The first overseas branch of Oxfam was founded in
Canada in
1963. The committee changed its name to its
telegraph address, OXFAM, in
1965.