National Lasagna Day Celebrates a Growing Movement of Neighbors Bringing Hope Home

by | Jul 29, 2026 | News Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

National Lasagna Day Celebrates a Growing Movement of Neighbors Bringing Hope Home

 

Communities across the country recognize National Lasagna Day through official proclamations as Lasagna Love surpasses 750,000 homemade meals shared and 3 million neighbors nourished.

NATIONWIDE (July 29, 2026) — As communities across the country recognize National Lasagna Day with official proclamations and volunteer celebrations, another household reaches out to Lasagna Love for a homemade meal every 2.9 minutes.

Most people who need help don’t look like they are in distress or facing hard times. They’re simply doing everything they can to keep going.

Earlier this month in Connecticut, Lasagna Love volunteer Debbie Barbiero of Seymour arrived at a family’s home carrying a homemade lasagna. Waiting for her at the end of the driveway was a woman holding flowers she had picked from her own garden. As Debbie handed over the meal, the woman burst into tears. She shared that she had survived breast cancer, her teenage son had faced serious health challenges, and her husband had recently undergone emergency heart surgery. Before Debbie left, the woman asked if she could simply have a hug.

Moments like these happen quietly every day in neighborhoods around the world. They rarely make headlines, yet they remind us that a homemade meal is never just about dinner. It is about feeling seen. It is about knowing someone cared enough to spend their time thinking about you. It is hope delivered from one home to another.

Today, on National Lasagna Day, Lasagna Love celebrates those moments and the thousands of volunteers who continue creating them every single day.

What began as a single day recognizing one of America’s favorite comfort foods has grown into National Lasagna Day Season for Lasagna Love, a month-long celebration of homemade meals, local generosity, and the extraordinary ways neighbors care for one another.

This year, the quiet acts of kindness happening around kitchen tables are being recognized on a national stage.

Governors, mayors, and local leaders across the country have issued official proclamations and commendations recognizing National Lasagna Day Season and celebrating the thousands of volunteers who strengthen communities through homemade meals and simple acts of kindness. Recent recognitions include proclamations from Governors Greg Abbott (Texas), Kelly Ayotte (New Hampshire), Laura Kelly (Kansas), Matt Meyer (Delaware), Maura Healey (Massachusetts), Mikie Sherrill (New Jersey), and Wes Moore (Maryland), along with commendations and mayoral proclamations from communities across Alabama and New York. Together, these recognitions celebrate the belief that communities are strongest when neighbors care for one another and honor the thousands of volunteers who strengthen their communities one homemade meal at a time.

Since 2020, those quiet moments have now happened more than 750,000 times.

Lasagna Love volunteers have shared more than 750,000 homemade lasagnas, nourishing more than 3 million neighbors across the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. More than 105,000 people have joined the movement since 2020, with over 51,000 neighbors personally preparing and delivering at least one homemade lasagna to someone in their own community. During the past 12 months alone, more than 22,000 new volunteers have joined Lasagna Love, while another household requests support every 2.9 minutes on average.

Yet the need continues to grow.

More than 141,000 meal requests are currently waiting to be matched with a volunteer, reflecting the growing number of families facing rising grocery costs, financial hardship, illness, caregiving responsibilities, disability, grief, military deployment, and other life circumstances where one homemade meal can make all the difference.

“People often think we deliver meals,” said Andria Larson, Executive Director of Lasagna Love. “What we’re really delivering is hope. Every homemade lasagna begins in one family’s kitchen and ends around another family’s table carrying something much bigger than dinner.“

“People sometimes ask why homemade?” Larson continued. “It’s because a homemade meal creates something a grocery delivery never can. It opens the door to a conversation, a hug, a shared story, or simply the quiet reassurance that someone cared enough to spend their time thinking about you. That’s what our volunteers deliver every single day.“

Unlike traditional food assistance programs, Lasagna Love removes barriers to asking for help. There are no complicated qualification requirements or lengthy application processes. The organization believes that need doesn’t always look the same, and no one should have to prove they deserve kindness.

“Some families are facing food insecurity. Others are navigating cancer treatments, caring for aging parents, recovering from surgery, grieving a loss, welcoming a new baby, or simply trying to hold life together,” Larson said. “Need is need. We don’t need to know your story to know know you deserve a meal and to feel cared for.”

Throughout National Lasagna Day Season, volunteers, donors, businesses, and communities have rallied around four shared goals: welcoming new monthly Club Ricotta donors, welcoming new volunteer chefs, nourishing 50,000 neighbors during July, and raising $100,000 to keep kindness cooking in communities around the world.

This year’s National Lasagna Day Season has been made possible through the generous support of Lifeway Foods, The Popeyes Foundation, and Healthworks Boston, each helping strengthen communities by empowering volunteers to prepare and deliver homemade meals to neighbors facing hardship.

Sara Sullivan, Lifeway Foods, shared why the partnership is meaningful to the company: “At Lifeway, we believe that nourishing food begins with quality ingredients, but we also believe the meals we remember most are the ones shared with people we care about. That’s why we’re proud to partner with Lasagna Love this National Lasagna Day. A homemade meal has the power to bring comfort, connection, and kindness to neighbors facing difficult times. We’re honored to support the volunteers who open their kitchens and their hearts to make that possible.”

While National Lasagna Day is celebrated on July 29, Lasagna Love believes kindness deserves more than a single day on the calendar. That’s why National Lasagna Day Season is celebrated throughout the month of July, shining a light on the volunteers, homemade meals, and acts of kindness that define the organization’s mission every day of the year.

Beginning November 1, Lasagna Love will launch Pasta for a Purpose, its annual holiday giving campaign leading into GivingTuesday and year-end giving. The campaign invites individuals, businesses, and communities to ensure more families experience warmth, nourishment, and hope throughout the holiday season.

Whether someone chooses to cook, donate, partner, request a meal, or simply share the story, every act of kindness creates another opportunity for a neighbor to feel seen.

Because sometimes the greatest gift isn’t the lasagna. It’s the reminder that you don’t have to carry today alone. This National Lasagna Day, Lasagna Love invites everyone to be part of the movement whether by cooking a homemade meal, requesting one, supporting a volunteer lasagna chef, or simply reminding someone in their own community that they don’t have to carry today alone.

 

Lasagna Love By the Numbers

  • 750,000+ homemade lasagnas shared
  • 3 million+ neighbors nourished
  • 105,000+ volunteers have joined the Lasagna Love movement
  • 51,000+ neighbors have personally delivered a homemade lasagna
  • 22,000+ new volunteers joined in the last 12 months
  • A new meal request every 2.9 minutes
  • More than 141,000 meal requests are currently awaiting a volunteer match
  • Volunteers serving communities across the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom

Join the Movement

About Lasagna Love

Lasagna Love is a global grassroots movement and nonprofit dedicated to feeding families, spreading kindness, and strengthening communities. Powered by thousands of volunteers across the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, Lasagna Love connects neighbors through the simple act of delivering homemade lasagnas to anyone facing a hardship. By removing barriers and normalizing asking for help, the organization makes kindness accessible, personal, and judgment-free. More than a meal, each delivery represents time, care, and human connection—bringing comfort from one home to another. Learn more, request a meal, become a volunteer, or support the movement at www.lasagnalove.org or follow @WeAreLasagnaLove on Facebook and Instagram.

About Lifeway Foods, Inc.


Lifeway Foods, Inc., which has been recognized as one of America’s Growth Leaders by TIME, as Dairy Foods’ Processor of the Year 2025, one of Forbes’ Best Small Companies and named to Inc.’s 2025 Best in Business list in the Best Challenger Brands category, is America’s leading supplier of the probiotic, fermented beverage known as kefir. In addition to its line of drinkable kefir, the Company also produces a variety of cheeses and a ProBugs® line for kids. Lifeway’s tart and tangy fermented dairy products are now sold across the United States, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, Central America and the Caribbean. Learn how Lifeway is good for more than just you at lifewayfoods.com.

About The Popeyes Foundation

The Popeyes Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities with food and support during times of need. Through its SERVING WITH LOVE® initiative, the Foundation partners with nonprofit organizations across the country to expand access to food while supporting local communities and Popeyes Team Members during times of hardship. As a National Lasagna Day Season partner, The Popeyes Foundation helps empower volunteers to share homemade meals, kindness, and hope with neighbors when they need it most. Learn more at www.popeyesfoundation.org

 

About Healthworks

Founded in 1977, Healthworks has been empowering women through fitness, wellness, and community for nearly five decades. With a mission to help women become stronger physically, mentally, and emotionally, Healthworks creates spaces where connection, confidence, and well-being thrive. Through its partnership with Lasagna Love during National Lasagna Day Season, Healthworks celebrates the power of neighbors caring for neighbors and the meaningful connections that begin with a homemade meal. Learn more at www.healthworksfitness.com

 

Media Contact

Andria Larson
Executive Director, Lasagna Love
email: andria@lasagnalove.org

website:www.LasagnaLove.org