Catherine D’Amato

A tireless advocate for the hungry for more than 40 years, Catherine D’Amato assumed the leadership of GBFB in 1995. During her tenure, she has transformed GBFB into a $180 million charitable business and increased GBFB’s distribution from 7.5 million meals a year to nearly 90 million healthy meals this past year. She has grown GBFB’s network to include nearly 600 partner food pantries, meal programs and direct distribution sites across the 190 cities and towns across Eastern Massachusetts.

Under D’Amato’s guidance, GBFB has risen to the unprecedented challenge of responding to the surge in hunger due to the COVID-19 pandemic, distributing over 117 million pounds in 2021 to GBFB partner agencies that report serving over double the number of people in need. In 2021, GBFB marked its 40th anniversary since its incorporation while also distributing its 1 billionth pound of food which was accelerated by D’Amato’s leadership through the COVID-19 crisis.