Comité National de Secours et d'Alimentation

The Comité National de Secours et d'Alimentation ("National Relief and Food Committee"; Dutch: Nationaal Hulp- en Voedingscomité), abbreviated to CNSA, was a relief organization created in 1914 to distribute humanitarian aid to civilians in German-occupied Belgium during World War I. It was directed by the Belgian financier Émile Francqui. The CNSA acted as the network by which the aid brought in by the international Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB) could be distributed within Belgium itself.

Before the outbreak of World War I, Belgium relied on supplies of imports for almost three-quarters of all food consumed. With the German invasion in August 1914, the importation ceased and, as the economic crisis created by the invasion escalated, the distribution of the food that was available began to break down. In particular, the British Royal Navy began a four-year "Blockade of Europe" which, although aimed at Germany, also cut food supplies from neutral countries to German-occupied Belgium.

The Committee was established in September 1914, shortly after the German army occupied Brussels, under the name Comité Central de Secours et d'Alimentation ("Central Relief and Food Committee"). It was supported by voluntary contributions from a small group of notable financiers and businessmen, including Ernest Solvay, Dannie Heineman and Émile Francqui.

Initially, the Committee's activity was restricted to the city of Brussels and its suburbs. However, as the Germans extended their control across Belgium following the fall of the city of Antwerp in October 1914, and as the threat of famine within Belgium increased, the Committee linked up with similar organizations around the country and took the title "national". The initial direction of the Committee was given to Francqui. Francqui's position as head of the Société Générale de Belgique ("General Company of Belgium"), a giant semi-nationalized holdings company, allowed the CNSA access to a nationwide distribution network. From the start, the Committee was organized into two sections: one responsible for providing and selling food and the other for charitable aid such as clothing. Both sections of the CNSA were highly decentralized and relied heavily on local Committees across the country for much of their operations.

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