By Julia Train
Search up “comfort food” and lasagna will be one of the first results. Rhiannon Menn, a mother from California, knows that.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Menn felt like she needed to help families in her community who were struggling so she began cooking for them.
She managed to turn that service into an international nonprofit, called Lasagna Love, impacting thousands of volunteers and recipient families each week.
Now, Lasagna Love has over 56,000 volunteers across the United States, Canada and Australia, with a hope to move into Europe in the near future.
Donna Disbrow, the nonprofit’s regional director of New Jersey, left her job in the beginning of a pandemic as well, and was looking for something to occupy her time.
In March 2022, she came across a post on Facebook about the nonprofit and decided to sign up. A few months later, Disbrow became a local leader, overseeing multiple counties in New Jersey. In August 2023, she took on the role that she holds now, and added operations director to that early this year.
Toni Ciarlariello, a volunteer from Ocean City, felt drawn to the nonprofit because she too had cooked for people in her community during the pandemic.
After retiring, she was looking to volunteer somewhere with flexible hours.
When she came across the nonprofit in December 2023, she knew it was a perfect fit.
“For me, it’s therapy to cook, but it’s very fulfilling to feed people. Nobody’s ever sad when you bring them food,” said Ciarlariello. “So many people can use a home-cooked meal.”
She finds fulfillment in getting to see parts of New Jersey, typically underserved areas, she wouldn’t otherwise visit.
“It’s amazing to see the different family situations. Sometimes there’ll be three families living together in a little, tiny place or you might see a couple who’s displaced, and they’re in a motel, trying to put their lives back together, just all of these different places,” said Ciarlariello. “People are just so gracious and so appreciative of what we do.”
Although “lasagna” is in the name, volunteers–also referred to as “chefs”–do make other dishes to try to accommodate dietary restrictions if need be.
Every week, volunteers and lasagna recipients are matched up to those closest to them. When the match is made, an email is sent to the “chef” to notify them.
The volunteer has to reach out to the family to see if there are any other dietary restrictions, and then shops for the ingredients, makes a lasagna and delivers it.
In New Jersey, Lasagna Love has about 900 active volunteers and over 34,000 lasagnas have been delivered since late 2021. As an organization, they have fed over 2 million people in four years.
Although 900 may seem like a lot, it’s not. The nonprofit’s in need of volunteer chefs, particularly in South Jersey.
“I know 900 sounds like a lot, but 50% of those could be once a month,” Disbrow said.
For those interested in volunteering, sign up at lasagnalove.org.
