During these difficult times, her freshly emigrated Sicilian American parents (Giuseppe and Giuseppina Bonfanti) were hit especially hard by America's economic woes.
Clara's mother found inventive ways to stretch the family's meals and they emerged from the Depression safe and healthy.
In 2007, her grandson Christopher Cannucciari began filming Clara preparing her mother's Depression meals and assembled the footage into the YouTube series Great Depression Cooking with Clara.
She retired shortly after her 96th birthday and her last video was posted on April 18, 2019 (Fried Fish).