Her friend 81-year-old Mildred Yount became involved after meeting Catania during morning Mass at the Assumption of Mary Catholic Church on Lincoln Avenue.

"She said to me, 'It's such a crime they're throwing all that bread in the dumpster,'" Yount says.

That day seven years ago, the two decided to join forces and volunteer their time to help the hungry in Santa Clara County.

Taking the initiative, Catania and Yount each spend two different nights a week bagging and delivering the unpurchased bread after the store closes. The amount varies, but the volume typically averages out to four to five 24-gallon garbage bags full of bread, Catania says.

Catania says she spends three to four hours a week of her own time delivering the food to area food banks, shelters and churches, while she and her volunteers take bread to more than 18 local charities.

One of those beneficiaries is the Willows Senior Center on Lincoln Avenue. It receives a bread delivery twice a week.

Director Jane Hemeon says the kitchen has used Le Boulanger rolls for the seniors' Nutritious Meals lunches, but most of the loaves are bagged and available for seniors to take home so they do not have to buy bread.

The senior center receives many food donations, but "it's nice to get really good bread" from a local bakery, she says.

Sacred Heart Community Service on S. First Street is also another happy recipient of Catania's kindness. At Sacred Heart, 8,000 households a month receive a loaf in their three-day emergency supply of groceries that the organization gives to needy families that live within the six nearest ZIP-code areas. Pantry coordinator Karen Moretti estimates that Le Boulanger's and other stores' donations to the center total about 16,000 packages of bread per month.

Like Willows Senior Center and Sacred Heart Community, InnVision also benefits from Catania's decision. Occasionally Catania makes a "gigantic bread pudding" for the homeless if InnVision is holding a rehabilitation seminar.

Yount notes that people are so grateful for their donations that one day when she was unable to make a delivery the chef at InnVision came out and said, "We missed you."

Yount says connecting with Catania has turned into a rewarding experience, and she is happy to devote whatever time is necessary since retiring several years ago.

Yount is one of a small band of Catania's volunteers—there are only three others, but "we're always looking for people who are committed to go to other places," Catania says.

"Bonnie is a hard worker," says Yount about her friend, who is at an age when she could retire, but who still cares for her own mother, works at the bakery and does volunteer work.

"I don't think she has any free time for herself," Yount says.

Le Boulanger manager Gerald Zimmerman says Catania's volunteer efforts are "not touted."

"She quietly goes about organizing it, she oversees it and makes sure if anything with the volunteers goes wrong, someone from the organization can come pick up the bread," Zimmerman says.

He adds that the store does not bake extra bread with the idea of feeding the hungry, but willingly donates whatever portion is not sold.

Catania appreciates that the management is supportive of donating to those in need.

"We don't want to waste even the ends of bread," Catania says.