This year Santa Clara’s public-spirited Marsalli family–four generations of them–and an impressive team of dedicated volunteers cooked and served the Marsalli Family Foundation’s 10th annual free Thanksgiving feast. This year they served about 700 people at St. Clare’s Church as well as take-out dinners for those who couldn’t get out and organizations like Bill Wilson Center’s group homes and residential centers.
The guests are both families and those who find themselves estranged or far from family, immigrants and the native-born, the affluent and those living hand to mouth, children and great grandparents like Larry and Elisa Marsalli themselves. They all had one thing in common: pleasure in sharing the holiday with others.
“People—that’s what makes it so nice,” said family patriarch Larry Marsalli. “Everyone is always so generous.”