Chef Bruno Serato has served millions of meals to children in need during the past 14 years. Born in France to Italian parents, Serato moved to the United States in 1980. According to Serato, on April 18, 2005, his mother Caterina was visiting from Italy. The two toured a center for underprivileged children that was located near his restaurant. There, they met a young boy who was eating potato chips for dinner. Caterina made Serato go back with her to the restaurant to cook up spaghetti for the child.
"I haven't stopped making pasta since," Serato told reporters. From that small beginning, Serato started the Caterina Club—a foundation that has grown to 89 locations—that serves food to children, helps families find housing, and teaches “at-risk” teens skills from the hospitality industry, in the hopes of finding them work. The nonprofit says it serves 5,000 meals a day across 29 cities.
Serato’s advice for helping is simple: "Just start with one small thing. You can start with a 'hello,' a 'good morning.' Do one plate of pasta, give a hug, give a little jacket that you don’t use to someone who needs it.”
On Thursday, April 11, Serato served his 3 millionth meal. Alongside him was Billy Saldana, a 23-year-old who met Serato 14 years earlier, one of the first boys to get a meal from the Caterina Club. Saldana told the Orange County Register that while Serato cannot help everybody, he does change the life of every single child he serves.
The world can always use more people like Serato, willing to put their labor into serving those who need help. But it highlights the need for more government intervention in food assistance, not less.