FOOD
Lasagna Brings Communities Closer with 200,000 Meals Delivered: “Inspiring Neighbors to Support Each Other”
“So thankful for this!”
Lasagna Love is a unique program created to connect communities through mutual support, goodwill, and kindness.
Over 30,000 volunteers have teamed up to work for the nonprofit, and their efforts certainly paid off. Until now, Lasagna Love has fed more than 850,000 people while delivering 200,000 meals.
What are the details?
The program was initiated two years ago as a way to help families struggling to give healthy meals to all members.
Rhiannon Menn launched the nonprofit to bring food to the homes of her neighbors in need.
“There were many moms I knew who had lost childcare, lost jobs, and they were feeling stressed out. So, literally one day, I was like, ‘I’m going to make extra meals,’” the San Diego mom said, according to Sunnyskyz.
And her efforts soon got extra helping hands. The woman’s wish to bring comfort and tasty meals to her community kept growing, and now it’s turned into something a lot larger.
More than 30,000 women and men from around the world joined her initiative, and the platform delivered 200,000 meals for 850,000 people.
As the delivered tasty dishes added up, the network ripple effect kept going further and reaching more neighbors in difficult circumstances.
And a survey done by the program showed it’s not just about bringing one meal and then letting go.
“Kindness inspires recipients to take action in their communities. But how often? Just about all the time. 97.7% of recipients were inspired to pay it forward after receiving a meal,” a post written by the nonprofit on social media states.
The people who got the home-cooked meals also felt more supported and connected to their community as a result of this simple gesture.
“We launched Lasagna Love to provide comfort during a time of uncertainty. As we go on into our third year, we recognize our true power is so much greater. We inspire pay-it-forward acts of kindness across communities and increase feelings of connectedness and support among neighbors,” Menn added.
“My husband and I are both disabled. The state of Texas pays for our home health aides, and the food bank is fabulous. Yet none of these things are as great as a lasagna love meal. God bless all of you,” a family who received the wonderful meals wrote.
“All of the volunteers are amazing people who have hearts of gold. A big thank you to everyone who volunteers. You all are wonderful,” was another reaction to the organization’s activity.
“I’ve had some great Lasagna from my area here in Indiana been overly grateful,” a different user wrote.
“My vegetarian lasagna from Sari in Chicago was delicious. Thank you,” was another reaction to the kindness and goodwill.
“So thankful for this! Amazing experience and helps this momma out so much while my daughter is finishing treatment. I wish I had known about it when my son was a newborn and our journey began,” a touched mom concluded, showing that a warm meal can help many people feel positive again and realize that love is all around us, even in the most challenging times when we face hardship and trials.