By Gwen Rollings
Of all the wear and tear associated with COVID-19 during the past year, mealtimes have taken a serious toll on many peoples’ nerves. Especially as kids remain at home distance learning and parents are remotely working there, so coming up with three meals a day can be daunting.
Having a delicious meal prepared just for you, left on your doorstep (not in a flat, cardboard box) at no charge, is actually possible thanks to Lasagna Love.
During this pandemic, Lasagna Love was created by Rhiannon Menn, who lives in San Diego. What started as a few meals to help neighbors suddenly became a nationwide movement and nonprofit organization in six short months with over 3,000 volunteers preparing and delivering meals.
“Lasagna Love was started kind of by accident in the beginning … honestly just a way for me to feel more helpful,” said Menn.
Wanting to be helpful was also the reason Mary Ellen Ignatius of River Hills became involved with Lasagna Love. While watching a morning talk show, Ignatius knew she could share her love of cooking by sharing Lasagna Love here. Ignatius is the first and presently only volunteer in our area.
Ignatius stressed that anyone could request a meal for themself or someone else. It started out as moms helping moms and became a way to put a smile on someone’s face that only a delicious meal could engender.
Whether an overwhelmed single mother, someone going through chemo treatment, a head of the family out of work or an isolated elderly person, there are no regulations for who is eligible.
Volunteers are needed. Ignatius said, “You can sign up on lasagnalove.org, decide how many meals you would like to prepare and deliver each week. The meals have expanded to more than lasagna, so volunteers prepare hearty portions of their favorites.”
To request a meal for yourself or someone else, the procedure is simple: go to lasagnalove.org and fill out the information requested. Within a few days you will be contacted and asked about any food allergies, etc., and then a meal will magically appear on your porch with no delivery person in sight, just a text announcing it’s there.
Ignatius said, “I love giving people a meal. It’s often bad times that bring out the best in people.”
For more information, to request a meal or to volunteer to cook a meal, visit www.lasagnalove.org.
