Lasagna Love nurtures neighbors in need

Jeani Elbaum wasn’t having such a great December, losing her mother and being diagnosed with cancer in short succession. Problem was, the family and friends who’d normally rally around her were all over the country, not near Las Vegas. Then her cousin in Huntsville, Alabama, had an idea.

“She was trying to think of a way to help me out,” Elbaum said. Luckily, her cousin had heard about an organization called Lasagna Love that had a branch in Las Vegas.

“She quickly called it up on her computer and signed me up,” she said. “Within a couple of weeks, somebody contacted me via text and said they were going to bring me lasagna.”

“It was really wonderful,” she said. “It was better than restaurant lasagna.” And they brought her salad and bread, too.

Lasagna Love started in San Diego in the early days of the pandemic, when the founder of a website for moms was trying to think of ways to help the community. Its goal is to deliver meals to families who are struggling financially or emotionally. The movement since has spread across the country.

Amy Kelly, who serves as the group’s local coordinator, heard about Lasagna Love from a friend in Chicago. Kelly, who with her husband has remained employed during the pandemic, knew how lucky they were.

“I had just been looking for something to do that would help the community, and this seemed like an easy way to get involved,” she said. She started in October.

Gina Antoniadis joined the effort in January.

“I had kind of researched it on social media,” she said. “When it comes to volunteering and helping others, I can be skeptical about giving money, because you don’t know where it goes. With this, there’s no middleman; I hand it right to them. And who doesn’t love lasagna?”

Antoniadis said so far she’s made and donated about 15.

“It gets easier as they go,” she said. “But I’m always trying to perfect my recipe.”

Ashley Lyons said she volunteered in part because of her background as a chef.

“It was a natural fit,” she said. “My husband and I are only here during the wintertime, so I thought it would be a good way to give back to the community when I’m only here part of the year.”

Kelly said 66 people from all over the valley have volunteered to donate. While the idea originally was for moms to help moms, she said she has a number of retirees as well. She has a volunteer in Mesquite but so far no requests, and requests in Pahrump but so far no volunteers.

“The nice thing is when you set up your volunteer profile, you can say how long you’re willing to travel,” she said. Volunteers also get a short course on food safety.

When requesters fill out their forms, they specify things like allergies and whether they’re vegan or avoid gluten.

“And we make sure people are comfortable cooking food for that kind of dietary need,” Kelly said.

The lasagnas are prepared in foil pans for oven reheating; in the rare case a requester has only a microwave, glass pans are used.

And some recipients are finding a way to share the wealth.

“The lasagnas are so oversized, there’s not only enough for my family, but I shared it with my neighbors” in two other households, said Catherine Winchester, adding that she announced, “The lasagna is coming!”

Winchester said she’s a senior and doesn’t do much cooking anymore.

“He missed his lasagna,” she said of her husband. “So, to have something like this come into our house …

“I’m really surprised. These women go all out.”

Even though she doesn’t cook much anymore, Winchester said the experience has prompted her to think about getting involved as a volunteer.

“I’m really glad to be part of it,” she said. (Interested volunteers and recipients should visit lasagnalove.org.)

Both Winchester and Elbaum said that a few weeks after their first delivery they were contacted again, because they apparently had cycled through the system.

“This person also brought wonderful-tasting lasagna,” Elbaum said, “and also salad and bread and homemade chocolate chip cookies.

“I would highly recommend it to anyone.”

Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at Hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Follow @HKRinella on Twitter.