Lasagna Love Grows to Feed 3 Million Through Neighborly Help

The pandemic brought a moment of crisis that also brought a moment of compassion. For the last six years, Andria Larson has seen firsthand how compassionate we can be toward our neighbors in need. That’s all thanks to her involvement with Lasagna Love, a grassroots nonprofit that connects neighbors who want to cook for neighbors who could use a homemade meal.

When the pandemic hit, Andria felt helpless. She had groceries and knew how much it meant to have a homemade, hot meal during uncertain times. So she baked lasagnas and took to social media to ask if anyone in her community needed one.

It was a simple gesture that exploded from there. Neighbors helping neighbors. No one has to prove their income or justify needing help.

Since 2020, Andria has helped Lasagna Love grow into a massive network of 61,150 volunteers who have completed deliveries, providing more than 750,000 lasagnas and feeding about 3,000,000 people. Our reach is national, but the work happens in local kitchens and on neighbors’ doorsteps.

Andria hears stories from recipients all the time. One mother described losing her job and worrying about feeding her children. When a lasagna arrived, she could breathe a little easier. It didn’t pay her bills, but someone had shown up, and for one evening, she didn’t have to figure everything out on her own.

Another woman struggling with cancer shared she didn’t have the energy to cook for herself. She had lost 40 pounds. When a lasagna showed up at her doorstep, she realized that not only did she have to start taking better care of herself, but she wanted to find the strength to survive so she could pay it forward to someone else going through cancer alone.

The people making those moments possible have bills and struggles, too. Our volunteers buy ingredients, cook and deliver lasagnas using their own resources. We have 19,328 volunteers who have paused their volunteering, most of them citing increased ingredient costs.

People can still want to help and need to step back because their grocery budget won’t stretch any further.

Others stretch ingredients and organize lasagna ingredient drives with businesses, co-workers and friends. We help cover groceries for some through grants, donations and Patreon sponsorships when funding is available.

Someone has time to cook. Someone else contributes ingredients. Together, they make dinner possible.

Our organization funds the connection itself: the technology, coordination, staffing and volunteer support that bring those neighbors together.

We’ve had to pass up grants that required administrative work but wouldn’t cover the people needed to do it. The meal is freely given. Making that connection still costs money.