Community Impact Movement That ‘Exists to Assist’ Surpasses Meal Delivery Record and Volunteer Attrition Goals
BOSTON, Mass. (August 22, 2023) – Lasagna Love, the global community impact movement that spreads kindness and strengthens community through home-cooked meal deliveries, concluded its weeklong National Lasagna Day 2023 celebration by breaking records in meals delivered and volunteers added. With the support of sponsors including RAGÚ®, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Galbani Cheese, Pegasystems, and Whirlpool, nearly 8,000 volunteers from Lasagna Love delivered 11,537 meals to individual families, first responders, food banks, and various nonprofit community organizations, and Lasagna Love added nearly 1,200 new volunteers.
In the three years since the first delivery by Lasagna Love’s Founder Rhiannon Menn, Lasagna Love’s dedicated team of more than 45,000 volunteers from all 50 states of America, Australia, and Canada, have fed more than 1.5 million people, and delivered upwards of 350,000 meals. Consistent momentum behind the viral movement-turned-nonprofit served as the impetus for setting annual National Lasagna Day goals which included the delivery of 10,000 lasagnas and the welcoming of 1,000 new volunteers. Both goals were readily surpassed – offering proof of the profound influence Lasagna Love has had on communities at large. It also signaled the magnitude of need that still remains.
“The results achieved by Team Lasagna Love have been inspirational not only to me, but to all whose lives we touch,” said Lasagna Love Founder Rhiannon Menn. “Our sponsors, recipient families, and volunteers have gained a shared perspective about not only the widespread need for support, but the reach and impact of our efforts. There is no shortage of families deserving kindness, especially as economic factors mount added stress and concern.”
Highlights from National Lasagna Day 2023 include:
- Lasagna Love + RAGÚ® in New Jersey: Lasagna Love’s core executive team collaborated with RAGÚ® for a half-day ‘prepare and deliver’ event during which 15 volunteers from both organizations made and delivered 190 lasagnas–in a single day!
- Lasagna Love Night at Fenway Park/Massachusetts: Lasagna Love Founder Rhiannon Menn and the organization’s entire executive team joined a gathering of nearly 400 Lasagna Love volunteers to receive on-field recognition from the Boston Red Sox.
- Lasagna Love in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Volunteer Desarae Legros, along with support of Lasagna Love volunteers located throughout the region, fed more than 500 people – the largest number of individuals fed in a single community during the National Lasagna Day celebration.
- Lasagna Love in Southern California: More than 100 lasagnas were made and delivered by Local Leader Ellen Klineberg and a crew of Lasagna Love volunteers to North Valley Caring Services, a nonprofit organization serving San Fernando Valley residents.
- Lasagna Love in Omaha, Nebraska: More than 150 lasagnas were prepared and served to veterans by Lasagna Love volunteers, an effort organized by Local Leader Kathy Kirschner.
Lasagna Love and Sponsors Continue Collaborative Efforts
As the Fall 2023 school year begins, Lasagna Love is seizing all opportunities to provide comfort and relief to families. Lasagna Love’s intrinsic belief is that volunteers exist to assist. Where there is challenge, Lasagna Love aims to provide relief, comfort, and kindness. The nonprofit plans to extend its ongoing relationship with National Lasagna Day sponsors, one of which was Carrabba’s Italian Grill. The well known restaurant chain generously donated nearly 2,100 lasagnas during National Lasagna Day and also donated 10% of all in-restaurant and online lasagna entrée sales made on July 29th, totaling more than $7,000. Kristen Savage, Lasagna Love’s Regional Director for Florida, rallied support from volunteers across the state to deliver more than 300 donated Carrabba’s lasagnas, which helped clear Lasagna Love’s recipient backlog. Pegasystems, which also sponsored Lasagna Love’s National Lasagna Day celebration, held a corporate wide event and delivered 25 lasagnas to over 100 people. RAGÚ®, which has aligned itself with Lasagna Love for similar celebrations, this year organized on-site events in both Detroit, MI and Houston, TX alongside Lasagna Love’s executive team, making and delivering 105 lasagnas–and feeding more than 400 people. RAGÚ® will also be continuing its partnership with Lasagna Love throughout the year – celebrating Star Chef Honorees – who are volunteers nominated by Lasagna Love Regional Leaders for their outstanding efforts within their respective communities.
‘Project Ricotta’ To Make Nonprofit More Efficient
With the conclusion of National Lasagna Day 2023, Lasagna Love has sights set on next steps. To continue its successful remote operation and maintain strong connections within its distributed volunteer network, Lasagna Love is making concerted efforts to build out its foundational technologies. Operated almost entirely by a passionate army of volunteers linked by shared purpose, Lasagna Love has successfully united participation from individuals located around the world, each of whom is encouraged to participate as much or as little as desired. The nonprofit’s unique model streamlines volunteerism by leveraging digital applications and social media platforms in a world where technology is increasingly used to maintain connectivity. To help achieve this objective, the organization received a grant from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), which will be used to construct a world class open-source enablement platform to further scale its efforts. “The grant will allow Lasagna Love to scale our ability to match our volunteer lasagna chefs with recipients, and leverage the power of data to more efficiently use all of our resources,” said Erynn Petersen, Lasagna Love board member and Project Ricotta lead.
“National Lasagna Day results have proven an ongoing need for the work we do as well as the deep commitment shared by our volunteers to raise up their communities,” continued Menn. “We are working feverishly to develop a technologic framework to support our growth–something that would benefit from outside donations. We hope that the support that Lasagna Love provides will inspire more individuals and businesses to align themselves with us.”
About Lasagna Love
Lasagna Love is a community impact program that connects neighbors through gestures of kindness, goodwill, and support. The nonprofit has brought together more than 45,000 volunteers from around the world and abides by a trio of guiding principles: to feed families, spread kindness, and strengthen communities. Lasagna Love fosters a culture of positivity, empowerment, empathy, zero-judgment, and maintains a steadfast resolve to deliver comfort when needed most. The organization’s seminal purpose is: exist to assist. To request a meal, become a volunteer Lasagna Chef, to nominate a recipient for a Lasagna Love delivery, or to support Lasagna Love through donations or the purchase of Lasagna Love store merchandise, visit www.lasagnalove.org or our social channels @WeAreLasagnaLove.
Media inquiries: Wendy Agudelo; wendy@lasagnalove.org