Feeding families, spreading kindness and strengthening communities one lasagna at a time. This is the foundation of Lasagna Love, a national organization created during the pandemic.
It has rapidly grown in the past year connecting people needing help with people wanting to help. Currently, it has chapters in all fifty U.S. states, Canada, Australia and Puerto Rico.
Massachusetts Regional Leader Margie White said she covers about 25 towns in the region, including Northborough.
“People love to help,” she said. “The good thing about this organization is you can decide how often you would like to volunteer. It’s flexible and you are doing such good work in your own kitchen.”
White said it’s an easy way to volunteer with younger children and a way for older kids to get involved with giving back to the community.
“Food insecurity has always tugged at my heart,” said White. “Six months into the pandemic, I knew a lot of people who were struggling and people who lost their jobs. I make a great lasagna and this is where I need to be.”
- Sign up online to volunteer to make a lasagna.
White receives 25 requests for lasagnas on average per week. The matching of volunteers with recipients is done on Mondays. Once matched, volunteers coordinate a contactless lasagna delivery.
“It’s a lot of fun, very rewarding and very gratifying,” said White. “You can do it one time and see if you like it. There is no commitment.”
- Sign up online to request a lasagna.
“If you have a need, make a request,” said White. “There is no judgement. Everyone needs help in a different way and we are here to help. There is no definition as to what the need is.”
A typical person who requests a lasagna can be someone facing food insecurity, recovering from surgery, facing a stressful time or just needing a helping hand.
If you know someone in need, you can also nominate them to receive a lasagna.
A lasagna can be requested from one individual every 28 days.
White does caution that Lasagna Love is not meant to be GrubHub and recipients need to have patience. There can be a wait period as the request is matched to volunteers. For those with life threatening food allergies, there is a possibility of cross contamination in the volunteer kitchens. However, special dietary requests, such as dairy free, vegan or gluten free, are considered but may take longer due to the limited number of chefs who prepare special requests.
Another way to become involved in the organization’s mission without cooking is to take the Kindness Pledge and committing to spreading kindness and random acts of kindness.
Written by Liz Nolan, Contributing Writer