Rochester, NY (February 11, 2014) - Thomas C. Ferraro, lifelong anti-hunger advocate, community leader, and visionary entrepreneur who founded Foodlink, one of the nation's first food banks, died early this morning of pancreatic cancer. He was 67. Tom is survived by his mother, Marion Ferraro; beloved wife of 20 years, Regine Calvar; sons, Michael, John, Philippe; granddaughters Victoria and Isabelle; and countless family members, lifelong friends, partners and employees. Visitation is 1-4 7-9 PM on Friday at the funeral home, 1411 Vintage Lane, Rochester. Tom's funeral mass is 10:30 AM on Saturday at Sacred Heart Cathedral, 296 Flower City Park, Rochester. Tom was born on October 10, 1946 in Rochester, NY. As a youth, he had a great sense of humor, considered somewhat of a "rascal". He was a free thinker and daredevil. He spent his spare time playing baseball as a catcher and later on he played softball. He was a great pitcher. He also enjoyed Euchre and driving big fast cars. Tom was an avid NY Giants and Yankees fan. He enjoyed tv detectives shows and any books by Kurt Vonnegut. Tom was passionate about his family, including his wife of 20 years, Regine, and his two boys, John Phillipe. The trip they took to France was one of his favorite memories. One thing that always stood out about Tom from a young age was that he wanted to have a public influence. As an adult, Tom was incredible at helping others develop their talents and skills, and consistently provided people with the tools to become experts in their fields and build their confidence as professionals. Born and raised on the west side of the City of Rochester, Tom served as the Executive Director of Foodlink for 36 years. His commitment to the issue of hunger began in the early 1970s, while volunteering at a food cupboard in the 19th ward. At that time, only three food cupboards existed in Rochester, and all were reporting a steady increase in individuals seeking their services. In 1978, as an employee of Action for a Better Community, Tom appeared on the Eddie Meath Show to make a community wide appeal for food donations. A representative of Thomas' English Muffins called with a massive donation of bread products--and the regional food bank was born. Throughout his career, Tom was recognized for his entrepreneurial spirit. He was among the first "food bankers" in the nation. He served on the original Feeding America (known then as Second Harvest) Board of Directors, working with his peers to develop the concept of food banking nationally; he also assisted in the formation of the other seven New York State food banks as well as the creation of the New York State Department of Health's Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP) which continues to provide millions of dollars to hunger relief, food safety, and nutrition education programs each year. Tom was also known for his innovative approach to anti-hunger programming and nonprofit management. He followed his instinct and believed that to solve major problems, one must be willing to take risks. "There is no thinking outside the box," Tom often said, "there is only living outside the box." For more than three decades, his focus was to move the focus beyond the symptom of hunger and toward its root causes, by working to build community health and wealth while providing holistic services to those in need. He firmly believed that food banks have a responsibility to engage in workforce and economic development initiatives, to assist in building the capacity of other nonprofit organizations, and to be leaders in both public health and broader food system reforms. Though he felt uncomfortable with being described as such, Tom was a humanitarian in the true sense of the word. The welfare of others was the primary concern of his life. Through his work, he helped to sustain and give hope to hundreds of thousands of individuals, and his policy work at the state and national level reached countless more. Tom was the recipient of numerous distinguished community awards, including the Farash Foundation's Inaugural Farash Prize for Social Entrepreneurship, a prestigious community award aimed at recognizing and rewarding the best innovative approaches to our society's most pressing problems. For additional awards and other information, please visit the Foodlink website. Donations may be made to the Foodlink Foundation, 1999 Mt. Read Blvd, Rochester, NY 14615 in memory of Tom.