At a time when families gather to celebrate the holiday season with neighbors and loved ones, the community also takes time to consider the needs of those who may not be able to provide the kind of meals for their family they would like or need. Guilford is a town with great wealth, but we have community members among us who need our support.

The Guilford Foundation is pleased to announce the establishment of a permanent source of funding for the two local organizations that provide food for those in need: the Guilford Food Bank and the Saint George Food Pantry. Anita Catardi formally created the Catardi Family Loaves & Fishes Fund in memory of her husband, Salvatore Catardi, on National Hunger Awareness Day (September 4, 2014).

Anita set up this fund in memory of her late husband to honor his dedication to the Guilford community and his concern for those in need. Anita tells a wonderful story of Sal’s mother (her mother-in-law), who raised six children and didn’t have very much, but always had enough to feed the extra neighborhood kid who inevitably came to the table. Her door was always open, and she never turned anyone away. Anita says: “She’d turn what little they had into a feast.”

The Guilford Food Bank and the St. George Food Pantry will receive an annual contribution from this fund each year, forever, thanks to Anita’s generosity and kind remembrance of Sal.