Tom Caldarera Jr. by no means turned anybody in want away from the doorways of his enterprise, Taliano’s Italian Restaurant, in Fort Smith.
“Even at closing time after we had been cleansing up, and anyone would knock on the backdoor of the restaurant, they usually wished one thing to eat … (Tom would) pull out the pasta sauce and the pasta, and make one thing for them,” mentioned Janet Richardson, one in all Caldarera’s daughters.
Tom Caldarera opened Taliano’s Italian Restaurant at 14th and B streets in Fort Smith with accomplice Jim Cadelli in 1970.
Every Tuesday and Thursday, Caldarera and his spouse, Dorothy, made home made soup for the Sack Lunch program, and he instilled in his household the significance of serving these in want. Generations of Caldarera proceed to prepare dinner and distribute meals to individuals lined outdoors the Sack Lunch Program constructing, positioned at 317 North F St.
To honor Tom, who handed away in 2021, the Sack Lunch Program hosted Tom Caldarera Jr. Day on Thursday, which might have been his birthday.
People in want obtained soup made by Joe Caldarera, one in all Tom’s sons, together with sandwiches and dessert served by the Caldarera household.
Group members additionally donated canned meals gadgets as part of a group for the Group Rescue Mission to help purchasers transitioning out of homelessness.
Mayor George McGill offered the Caldarera household with a proclamation honoring Tom’s legacy and impression on Fort Smith.
“I hope we’ll all the time have a good time a day the place we acknowledge somebody like Tom, who gave a lot to this metropolis,” McGill mentioned.
The Sack Lunch Program, a ministry of St. John’s Episcopal Church, serves a mean of 200 lunches per day and is supported by 25 to 30 church buildings.
Breakfast is served from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday by way of Friday, and lunch is served 11:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday by way of Saturday.
“You may be up there proper now, they usually provides you with a lunch – no questions requested, don’t want proof of ID, no proof of earnings,” mentioned Jean Kolljeski, co-director of the Sack Lunch Program. “In the event you’re hungry, we’ll serve you and that’s the fantastic thing about this system.”