The Catherine D’Amato Fund
Catherine’s Legacy
Since 1995, Catherine D’Amato has led The Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB) with extraordinary vision, deep compassion, and an unwavering commitment to equity. During her tenure as president and CEO, GBFB has evolved from a regional food distributor into a national model for health-focused, data-driven, and community-centered hunger relief. Through periods of economic uncertainty and historic disruption, GBFB, under Catherine’s leadership, has strengthened the regional food security network and motivated policymakers to expand access to nutritious food.
As Catherine prepares to retire, GBFB is honoring not only her decades of tireless advocacy but also her defining legacy: bold, forward-looking innovation rooted in compassion.
The Catherine D’Amato Fund is designed to fuel the next generation of ideas that will shape hunger relief in Eastern Massachusetts and the nation. The fund will support pilot initiatives, emerging technologies, and new research, all of which will improve how GBFB serves its communities. At its core, the fund will advance GBFB’s mission and do what Catherine has always done best: push for new solutions and gather collaborators who can act on them. The overall goal, as always, is to deepen GBFB’s capacity to get healthy food into the hands of people who need it.
A History of Innovation
GBFB’s track record for innovation is indisputably strong, with many “firsts.” Under Catherine’s leadership, GBFB has:
- Founded, with Stop & Shop, the Hunger to Health Collaboratory (H2HC)—now a national organization—to align food, nutrition, and health through an equity lens to improve health and well-being.
- Founded, with Mass General Brigham, Massachusetts’s first annual statewide study to measure hunger.
- Became the first food bank in the U.S. to establish a nutrition policy and hire a medical doctor and registered dieticians to serve clients and Agency Partners.
- Created Massachusetts’s first food bank-based Center for Community Health and Nutrition.
- Created Click ’N Cook, the first-of-its-kind digital recipe resource accessible to all for free.
- Became the first food bank in the U.S. to install a Warehouse Management System, build a cloud-based data management system, and apply digital technology to all areas of the organization.
A Leading Voice
Catherine has also been a leading voice in anti-hunger policy. Her advocacy has led to major policy wins, including the Commonwealth’s significant investment in the Massachusetts Emergency Food Assistance Program (MEFAP), the creation of the free school meals initiative, and protection of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Donate to the Catherine D’Amato Fund
The Catherine D’Amato Fund will build on this history of innovative leadership, with your investment propelling GBFB’s work in four strategic areas: food-insecurity research; advanced technology and digital infrastructure; technology support for GBFB’s network of Agency Partners; and training and education for staff, volunteers, and partners. Together, these priorities ensure GBFB remains agile, efficient, and highly responsive to the needs of Eastern Massachusetts residents. Your gift to the Catherine D’Amato Fund will honor an iconic leader’s legacy of creativity, humanity, and courage, and advance GBFB’s longstanding mission to end hunger in Eastern Massachusetts.
Since 2020, GBFB has partnered with researchers at Mass General Brigham for Children to survey thousands of Massachusetts residents every year about their experiences with food insecurity and barriers to food assistance. This research began as a pandemic response tool, but it has since become essential in driving GBFB’s strategy. The data reveals who is experiencing hunger, where service gaps exist, and how GBFB can allocate resources more effectively.
Support for the Catherine D’Amato Fund guarantees the continuation of this research, ensuring that GBFB’s decisions remain grounded in evidence and equity.
Technology is transforming food banks and the entire hunger relief sector. Each year, GBFB adopts new tools to optimize supply chains and logistics, reduce waste, and improve access to healthy food. Looking ahead, the organization anticipates using artificial intelligence to analyze logistical and demographic data to predict client demand; automation to streamline distribution; and digital systems to track inventory, strengthen coordination with partner agencies, and safeguard donor and partner data.
Investing in the Catherine D’Amato Fund strengthens GBFB’s ability to respond faster, operate smarter, and serve more people with dignity and efficiency.
GBFB’s partner agencies work on the front lines of hunger relief. Through Community Investment Grants totaling $22 million in state and philanthropic funding, GBFB has expanded their physical capacity to serve clients, supporting everything from the purchase of new walk-in freezers to building expansions.
The next frontier is digital capacity. Partner agencies increasingly need modern tools to track inventory, streamline communication, and manage their clients’ needs. Whether through cloud-based software, online-ordering apps, or data analytics, these tools will optimize food distribution, reduce waste, and help families get the support they need when they need it.
Support for the Catherine D’Amato Fund strengthens GBFB’s network throughout Eastern Massachusetts.
GBFB believes that bold, strategic ideas require people to bring them to life. The Catherine D’Amato Fund will support professional development and training programs that equip staff, volunteers, and partner agencies with the necessary skills to engage with new technologies and also with emerging populations using GBFB’s services.
By investing in people through the Catherine D’Amato Fund, GBFB ensures that future leaders carry forward Catherine’s focus on collaboration and growth.
Testimonials about Catherine D’Amato’s Impact
“I’ve had the privilege of working closely with Catherine D’Amato over many years, and I’ve seen firsthand how her 30 years of leadership at The Greater Boston Food Bank set a national standard for addressing food insecurity with both compassion and rigor. By pairing deep community partnerships with data-driven policy solutions, Catherine helped position Massachusetts as a leader in advancing food security and equity statewide. Her leadership elevated hunger as a public policy priority, and her legacy will continue to shape how we care for families across Massachusetts.”
— Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey
“Catherine D’Amato has always understood the power of community, and she’s spent her career bringing people together around one of the most important issues we face—hunger. Her leadership at The Greater Boston Food Bank has helped unite and show us all what’s possible when we step up for our neighbors. The impact she’s had on families across Eastern Massachusetts is extraordinary, and her legacy of compassion and collaboration will continue to strengthen this community for years to come. We are so thankful for the time and energy she has given to help others.”
— Brad Stevens, President of Basketball Operations, Boston Celtics