Southern California’s #1 rated talk radio station is at it again. On Friday, December 6 from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., KFI-AM 640 will broadcast live in Orange County for the 9th Annual KFI PastaThon to raise money, dry pasta and tomato sauce for Caterina’s Club, which feeds some 5,000 hungry children daily. The station will broadcast its line-up of shows live from the Christ Cathedral (13280 Chapman Ave, Garden Grove, CA) starting with “Wake Up Call with Jennifer Jones Lee at 5 a.m.” followed by “The Bill Handel Show” at 6 a.m., "Gary & Shannon" at 10 a.m., "John & Ken" at 2 p.m., " and concluding with the “Tim Conway, Jr. Show” at 6 p.m.
The public is encouraged to stop by, meet their favorite hosts and make their donations to the nonprofit founded by chef/restaurateur/humanitarian Sir Bruno Serato; and 100% of donations will benefit Caterina's Club to help local children in need. In addition, all Smart & Final stores in California, Arizona and Nevada are offering special $10 "Feeding Caterina's Kids" kits filled with Barilla pasta and sauce, forks, napkins and bowls. As a convenience, Smart & Final will deliver the kits directly to Caterina’s Club. Last year's event generated more than $517,000 and 50,000 pounds of pasta & sauce. This year’s goal is to beat those numbers.
Also this year, all participants are encouraged to register to win a 13-day “Best of Italy” trip including airfare and hotel, courtesy Trafalger Travel Visit any of the participating Smart & Finals or go to pastathon.com to enroll. No purchase is necessary.
Caterina’s Club not only feeds underprivileged children nightly, but helps find permanent housing for families in need and introduces at-risk youth to careers in hospitality. The following are the latest stats reflecting the impact that Caterina’s Club has had on our communities:

· Total number of meals served: 3,000,000+
· Number of meals served nightly: 5,000
· Number of cities served: 30
· Number of locations: 87
· Total number of motel families placed in permanent housing: 216
· Number of students put through the Hospitality Academy: 215

“The KFI PastaThon is our biggest fundraiser of the year and it’s all due to the hard work and tireless support of Bill Handel and everyone at KFI-AM 640,” said Serato, who named the nonprofit after his beloved mother. “Each year, fans of KFI get a chance to meet their favorite hosts while doing some good for those in need. Also, we welcome the corporate community to participate as every penny we raise helps the children.”
Caterina’s Club serves 5,000 pasta dinners each night in 87 locations in Orange and LA counties with more than 3 million meals served. Serato's influence has extended far beyond the local area to include Caterina's Club chapters in Chicago, New York, Texas, Mexico and Italy. His nonprofit also helps families escape living in drug and crime infested motels and into safer, cleaner and more permanent housing and his Hospitality Program seeks to divert at-risk high school students by introducing them to opportunities in the food, hospitality and service industries.
For his humanitarian work, Serato has earned international publicity including profiles in People Magazine, on CBS, NBC and CNN as well as newspapers and magazines the world over. Among his many honors: CNN Hero, knighted by the Italian government, knighted by the House of Savoy, Ellis Island Medal of Honor, Papal blessing by Pope Francis, humanitarian award on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, and numerous proclamations, Man of the Year awards and other forms of recognition -- all of which he accepts to generate public awareness of the needs of our most vulnerable population – our children. For more information, visit www.caterinasclub.org